Results 1-15 of 15 for epa segment:8772159

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: I am just wondering why the EPA did not have those figures. Is it that it was not provided with the figures to incorporate into its analysis?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: It is because we have not made significant progress on them so far for the EPA to say that it can with authority include them as measures that will produce outcomes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: Does the Minister believe that in the next climate action plan those figures will be available to the EPA? We do not have a lot of time, and I understand that it is a difficult ship to turn, but will the EPA have enough information to make that full assessment next year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: ...know from looking at other countries and, indeed, Northern Ireland, that we have a lot of ground to make up in that space. That is something we want to push on. That strategy will then enable the EPA to assess the likely progress around that. It is also a matter of looking to see how we can improve tillage. I want to see that. We import about two thirds of our cereal requirements for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Brian Leddin: ...the previous plan in order to try to get us back on track. The timing of this meeting and the meetings with the other Ministers is after the report of the Climate Change Advisory Council and the EPA report in the summer, but prior to the revision of the climate action plan. The purpose of having any Minister before this committee is to challenge the policies and for the Minister to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: ...greater transparency and accountability in how we plan and deliver our climate action. This committee has a critical role in this process, in reviewing the latest Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, and Climate Change Advisory Council, CCAC, reports before inviting Ministers to attend and discuss their performance in supporting the delivery of our climate ambition, and in meeting our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: ...two or three things which will help. First, the governance structures we have are serving us. I refer to the CCAC, with its recommendations and review, and the back-up information provided by the EPA, SEAI and other entities that do the modelling for us. We have a good governance structure. We will see how this works in really making corrective action but I would not change those...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: ...of Government are collated that will enable it to deal with the actions that will be undertaken to meet those targets. What we have heard repeatedly from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, is that the climate action plan itself is not ambitious enough. The policies detailed with the climate action plan will not be enough for us to meet our targets. This is nothing to do with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: ...from land use in total. We then discovered the science had changed. It was almost even a month or two before we were drafting the final version. We were getting scientific advice from the EPA and other scientific bodies that, because of the nature of where our forestry had been planted, our land use emissions were likely to be at 11 million tonnes by 2030. That is from memory. I could...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: Am I correct in saying then, even if that was incorporated, the EPA analysis said it will still only meet 42% of the 51%?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: That is what the EPA has said the current action plan specifies.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: What additional emissions reductions will be incorporated? When the EPA does its analysis next June, will we be looking at another percentage point difference, up to 30% of the 51% following the changes to climate action plan, or does the Minister anticipate that we could be potentially up to 35% or 40%? What percentage reduction will the next climate action plan achieve?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: ...emissions are so significant and the relationship with agriculture and forestry is so real. The land use review task force is chaired by Ms Geraldine Tallon, the former Secretary General of the Department of the environment. Professor Mark Scott of UCD is providing a lot of work in the technical working group, building on the work that was done in the past two years by the EPA, Teagasc,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: The EPA, in its analysis in June, in which it reviewed how progress was made against the climate action plan, projected that emissions from the agriculture sector will decrease by between 4% and 20% to 2030. Based on the EPA's analysis, therefore, the maximum reduction in emissions from agriculture will be 20%, but the reduction could be anywhere between 4% and 20%. Is the Minister in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Eamon Ryan: I do not have the answer to that because I do not know what baseline figure the measure was assessed from. The EPA would have had a similar problem to us. If the baseline keeps moving, then measuring in that way becomes difficult and it is complicated, is the message I get back.