Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I would also say that other Members of the House want to hear the speech. I will provide a copy of it as soon as I can. Out of respect to all Deputies here, let us hear each other and listen. I will set out the provisions of the Bill, which I am in the middle of doing, and I ask for the right to finish that process. Deputies will have the speech as soon as we can deliver it to them.

The joint committee will be informed by the latest projections and inventories prepared by the EPA and by the annual report of the Climate Change Advisory Council, which will also now include an assessment of compliance with the carbon budget and sectoral emissions ceilings for that period. The annual update to the climate action plan complements this process and provides an opportunity to include new and updated or corrective actions, where necessary, to adjust and ensure compliance with the carbon budget and sectoral emissions ceilings. Through regular reporting of progress and a shared responsibility for the tasks ahead, we will deliver the change required, realise our long-term climate objectives and achieve our EU and international obligations.

In recognition that climate action will be an iterative process over many decades, the Bill provides that the climate action plan will be reviewed and updated annually and that we will adjust our measures, if necessary, to ensure we remain on track. The annual climate action plan will be aligned to the adopted three five-year carbon budgets. It will set out the actions and measures to be achieved in each five-year budget and the associated sectoral targets assigned.

The national long-term climate action strategy will look at the long-term pathways to achieve the 2050 target. As science and technology evolves these pathways will be expected, in turn, to evolve over time. It is appropriate, therefore, that this long-term strategy be updated at least every five years,

I fully recognise that while this direction of change will bring many opportunities, it will also present some challenges that we will need to address in our transition. Regular dialogue and listening to individuals, communities and different economic sectors will be a critical feature of this approach. The Bill provides, therefore, for extensive consultation in the development of carbon budgets and future plans and strategies, ensuring effective public participation at all key steps of the process.

This Bill will have a transformative effect on our climate policy ambitions and implementation. In order to achieve such a transformation, we must ensure that there are clear obligations that compel Government, Ministers and public bodies to act. To this end, the Bill requires Ministers and the Government to perform their functions in a manner that is, insofar as is practicable, consistent with the carbon budgets that are in effect. Each Minister is also required to comply in a similar manner with adopted sectoral emissions ceilings and relevant plans and strategies. Consistent with this approach, public bodies will also have a general obligation to perform their functions, insofar as is practicable, in a manner consistent with the requirements of the various plans and strategies under the legislation, and to further the achievement of the national climate objective.

The Bill requires local authorities to prepare their own climate action plans every five years. These plans will be consistent with national climate plans and will include mitigation and adaptation measures. In order to ensure appropriate alignment between the local authority climate action plans and their development plans, the Bill amends the Planning and Development Act 2000 to provide that the approved local authority climate action plan is taken into account in the preparation of any future development plan. These requirements ensure that climate action will be integrated into policy-making and implementation at all levels of public administration in Ireland.

I would like some extra time to finish the speech and go through all the provisions in the Bill, recognising that some of my time was lost mid speech.

His time was not lost. The clock had been stopped.

See this speech in context