Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I welcome this opportunity to address the House in response to this Private Member's Bill. I thank Deputies Eamon Ryan and Cuffe who came to see me and we spoke at some length about this Bill.

All of us in this House are agreed that climate change is taking place and some of the evidence has been outlined. The most visible indications of this trend include the retreat of the ice sheets on the world's mountain glaciers and at the polar regions. Its impact will be far-reaching and will affect developed as well as developing countries. Various extreme weather events over recent years have emphasised how exposed we are to economic and social dislocation from environmental factors. While it is not possible to link individual events directly to climate change, some extreme events are consistent with what scientists have been saying about climate change for a number of years.

In Ireland, climate change will impact on agriculture, energy, construction, transport, communications, tourism, fisheries and forestry, all highly sensitive to weather and climate factors. Research by Met Éireann among others, has shown that flooding and storm damage is expected to become more prevalent in coming years and increasing financial costs and further losses due to property damage may be anticipated as the climate warms.

The European Union is of the view that global temperature increases should be limited to 2°C and has articulated a position on what needs to be done to stabilise global temperatures at this level. I will return to this point. It is sufficient to say at this point, however, that global average temperatures have already increased by 0.7°C over the last 100 years and are projected to grow further by between 1.4°C and 5.8°C over the next century, depending on which projection one reads.

This Bill aims at committing Ireland in law to quantified reductions in greenhouse gas emissions above and beyond existing commitments under the Kyoto Protocol and it is unique, internationally, in that regard. The Bill also seeks to commit this country to establishing targets for the percentage of our total primary energy requirement to be provided by renewable energy supply. Relevant Ministers would be required to report annually to the Oireachtas on progress towards achieving these targets.

The Government agrees with the sentiment inherent in this Bill that Ireland should fulfil its climate change obligations. I would go further and say it would make sense for us to fulfil our climate change obligations. However, it does not agree that it should establish a commitment in legislation, which can be challenged in the courts, to achieving longer-term reduction targets on which there is as yet no international agreement.

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