Mr. John McCarthy:

I am speaking purely from my own knowledge but we can certainly explore that for the Deputy.

On the issue of the overall level of ambition to which the NESC report points in terms of a carbon-neutral Ireland and the issue of why there would not be a target for 2050 enshrined in the legislation, Deputy Stanley, if I understood him correctly, was referring to the European Union's objective for 2050 and why that would not be reflected in Irish law.

The EU's objective is to support achieving an 80% to 95% reduction in emissions globally. This is not a binding commitment which the EU has taken onto itself; it is an objective. In the same way as with the 2020 targets for the EU there are a range of targets for individual member states. When an overall EU target is set in legislation at EU level and cascaded down to individual member states, each member state will have a different target taking into account its individual circumstances. One cannot automatically translate a global target to the EU and equally one cannot automatically translate an EU target as an identical target for individual member states. At present the EU has a target for 2020 of an emissions reduction of 20%, but individual member state targets range quite dramatically across a spectrum because individual national circumstances must be taken into account.

The heads of the Bill as they have been set out seek to anticipate carbon budgets and milestones in the sense they provide a statutory requirement to take account of and respect not only existing targets, but future targets which may be set at EU or international level. At present we have a target for 2020 and, as we outlined at the outset and as confirmed in the most recent projections from the EPA, it will be very difficult to achieve this target. I mentioned that the process of establishing a 2030 target at European level is already under way with the publication of the 2030 Green Paper. No doubt this will lead in due course to the adoption of a target at EU level and individual member state targets on foot of it. In the heads as they have been set out we have tried not only to include a requirement to achieve existing targets, but also future targets as they develop.

A question was asked about policy changes, future government changes and how policy changes. It is very difficult to put something into legislation which ties the hands of future policy makers and Governments. The democratic process means that through elections governments change from time to time. It is important the heads enshrine a provision for accountability so there is clear understanding of targets set at European level and cascaded down to individual member states including Ireland, and a mechanism for accountability to the Dáil.

Reference was made to avoiding kicking a can down the road. The process in which we have engaged since the Minister published the programme for the development of climate policy and legislation in January 2011 has been very much focused on getting to grips with a can which cannot be kicked down the road. We have a very demanding target for 2020 and, building on what Dr. O'Donnell stated, while a considerable amount of discussion and debate has taken place on how much and the targets dimension, the attention must turn to how we are to achieve the targets which have been set and those which will be set in future. We have a 2020 target and this process is very much focused on providing a roadmap to achieving this target, but also takes into account what is likely to come down the road and what the world is likely to look like in 2030, 2040 and 2050, so what we do now and the policies we put in place now do not just serve to meet a 2020 target, but are stepping stones to achieving further targets down the road. The 2030 target process is already under way with the publication of the Commission's Green Paper.