John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I refer to the reply to Question No. 76 on today's Order Paper.

I was very pleased with the constructive first meeting which I had with the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security. The committee is a welcome addition to our national parliamentary structure, one which clearly reflects the importance the Oireachtas attaches to the climate change agenda. I look forward to further engagements with the committee on national, EU and wider international aspects of that agenda.

Progress towards achieving the Government's domestic 3% average annual reduction commitment may be measured with reference to net national greenhouse gas emissions. While this includes emissions from installations in the EU emissions trading scheme, the control of emissions within that scheme is primarily a matter for the scheme participants. The trading scheme allows participating installations to emit in excess of their allocation provided they purchase additional allowances in respect of any excess emissions. Alternatively, an installation may choose to reduce its emissions to the level of its allocated allowances. In this regard, the scheme provides the flexibility for installations to meet their obligations in the most cost-effective manner available to them.

I do not want to continue further because it is a repeat of what I said earlier. It is a cut and paste job so rather than wasting the Deputy's time I will allow him to ask a question.

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