Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. We discussed the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Scrutiny on the EU climate package and I congratulate the Chairman and the members of the committee. The climate-energy package is one of the most significant policy developments to be proposed by the European Commission. It is a response to the call by the EU Heads of State and Government to transform the European Union into a highly energy-efficient and low greenhouse gas-emitting economy. The package also provides the cornerstone of the EU's leading role in the international response to climate change. It will offer a robust basis on which the EU can achieve its independent reduction targets

Given the scale of the challenge we are facing and the commitment that will be required from all sectors and citizens, the proposals should be examined and debated at every level of society. This report and today's discussions make an important contribution to this process of broadening the debate and informing the national position.

The proposals put forward by the European Commission in January 2008 provide the context within which our national efforts will become part of the greater whole. This is our contribution to EU and international efforts that are intended to meet a very ambitious goal, namely, to stabilise atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and to limit the increase in global temperatures to 2° Celsius.

The proposals put forward by the Commission are based on the most up to date science available as set out in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, Fourth Assessment Report. All countries, as varied as those of the EU, the United States, China, India or Saudi Arabia, have recognised that the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report represents the most comprehensive and authoritative assessment of climate change to date, providing an integrated scientific, technical and socio-economic perspective on relevant issues. That research concluded that climate change has been caused by man-made emissions, and if these emissions continue to grow they will have potentially catastrophic effects throughout the globe by the end of this century.

The challenge is as clear and unambiguous as the science. We must make very significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. To meet the goal of 2o Celsius we must stabilise global emissions within the next decade or so, and by 2050 cut them by at least 50% below 1990 levels. This means that developed countries will need to reduce their emissions by 25-40% by 2020, compared to 1990.

Last year, the EU set out its aims for a comprehensive and fair international agreement to come into force by the end of 2012. The EU made an independent commitment to reduce emissions by at least 20% by 2020 and agreed to increase this to 30% as part of an effective international agreement. The EU will expect other industrialised countries to take on reduction targets that put them on a similar level of ambition so that the developed countries reduce their emissions by 30% by 2020. This will keep us on track to meet the 2o Celsius target and it is consistent with the IPCC findings. Commitments on action to address rising emissions will also be required from developing countries and the assistance that they will need to make those commitments will also need to be agreed as part of the international negotiations.

The European Commission's package of proposals to address greenhouse gas emissions reductions and renewable energy targets, to develop a framework for carbon capture and storage and to facilitate environmental investments under State aid guidelines provides a solid and robust basis on which the EU can work to meet its ambitions. As the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, stated earlier, the Government considers the package to be both comprehensive and integrated and believes it will provide a credible framework on which to base negotiations within the EU. The package will take some time for full consideration by all member states and it is possible that EU discussions will last into early 2009.

A key aim for the Government is to ensure that all sectors can contribute to the attainment of emissions reduction targets for 2020 and that reaching these ambitious but necessary targets should be achieved in a manner that is consistent with the overall targets approved by the EU Heads of State and Government and is also cost-effective for member states. The Government believes that it will be possible to negotiate a range of flexibilities consistent with the overall reduction target that permit its achievement at low economic cost.

The Government has also made it clear throughout the negotiations that the inclusion of carbon sinks is very important if we are to meet our targets on the effort-sharing side. On this basis, forestry should not be transferred into the emission trading scheme, ETS. Sustainable forestry is encouraged under the Kyoto Protocol and it is important that the full potential that it can make to addressing climate change is also incorporated into the 2020 package. Similarly, it is important that carbon leakage, particularly in the area of agriculture production, should be avoided. There is no environmental benefit gained by simply transferring emissions out of the European Union. Therefore, it is necessary to address this concern in the context of the on-going negotiations on the package.

The positive endorsement of the overall package of proposals by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security is to be welcomed. Some valid suggestions have been made by the committee and, as the Minister outlined, a number of these are already reflected in the Government's position. I believe that the Commission's proposals and the related internal EU negotiations form the basis for a future international agreement and represent the best means of tackling the significant climate change challenge that faces us.