Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The membership of the Climate Change Advisory Council, CCAC, has changed greatly since the 2015 Act and there have already been appointments in that regard. Section 9 of the Act provides that the CCAC membership will have expertise in at least one of a number of areas of expertise relevant to the work of the CCAC. That list now includes climate science, transport, energy and agriculture policy, behavioural and communication services, biodiversity, ecosystems, climate adaptation, economics, finance, political sociology or ethics with regard to climate and so on. That is just to broaden that out from a committee which was very much focused on economics.

While social justice, policy and inclusion are not specifically referenced, it does not prevent the Minister from nominating individuals who have knowledge in those areas. Acknowledging the broad range of expertise and competences required on the CCAC membership, the Bill has been further amended to increase membership to a maximum of 13 members. That is to increase the capacity of the council to include as broad as possible a range of expertises and backgrounds, which is absolutely necessary to any functioning committee that can take all perspectives into account and come up with conclusions in touch with all of society.

Its key role is proposing carbon budgets. The CCAC must ensure consistency with our international obligations, including the Paris Agreement, which will be implemented to reflect equity in the context of sustainable development and efforts to reduce poverty. The CCAC must also have regard to climate justice and thus, the social opportunities, as well as potential impacts on society, will be ever present.

If you look at sections 11(2) of the 2015 Act, it provides the CCAC is open to establish subcommittees and the composition of such a subcommittee is not limited to just CCAC members. The CCAC may therefore appoint or seek external expertise in relevant matters, should it be required, and the CCAC may also produce expertise to assist it in preparing reports on specific matters. As applies to all committees, it has to be aware of any conflicts of interest when appointing people. That is standard practice.