Written answers

Tuesday, 24 March 2015

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Climate Change Policy

Photo of Anne FerrisAnne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
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895. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views on the Government's proposal for the formation of an expert advisory council on climate change, particularly on the rationale behind the current proposal not to confine the membership to persons with independence from stakeholder interests; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11774/15]

Photo of Anne FerrisAnne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
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896. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015, as recommended by Government, contains no numerical target for emission reduction and fails to incorporate a definition of low carbon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11775/15]

Photo of Anne FerrisAnne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
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897. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015, as proposed by the Government, fails to include any reference to climate justice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11776/15]

Photo of Alan KellyAlan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 895 to 897, inclusive, together.

The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill, published in January 2015, provides for the establishment of a National Expert Advisory Council on Climate Change to provide independent advice to Ministers and the Government on the development of National Mitigation Plans and National Climate Change Adaptation Frameworks and to publish annual and periodic review reports. The Expert Advisory Council is to comprise a chairperson and between 8 and 10 ordinary members, four of whom shall be ex officiomembers comprising the heads of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Teagasc and the Economic and Social Research Institute. In terms of appointing a chairperson and the remaining ordinary members, it is important to note the Expert Advisory Council is not a stakeholder/representative entity and that the Government will consider the range of qualifications, expertise and experience necessary for effective performance of the advisory body. The inclusion of the ex officiomembers will help underpin this much-needed expertise and experience on these matters, as well as providing a link with relevant agencies working in the field to ensure effective implementation. Within this context, it should also be noted that it is intended to put in place appropriate arrangements so that the Expert Advisory Council can operate effectively in performing its functions.

With regard to a mitigation target for the year 2050, the Bill explicitly commits the State to compliance with both current and future EU and international obligations in respect of climate change. Ireland already has greenhouse gas mitigation targets up to the year 2020, and discussions are ongoing with respect to targets up to the year 2030. This target-setting process will undoubtedly continue in relation to the periods up to the years 2040 and 2050. Putting in place our own statutory GHG mitigation targets would cut across and interfere with this EU target-setting process. Given that Ireland will likely be subject to binding greenhouse gas emission reduction targets up to the year 2050 as part of the EU process in any event and that a long-term vision of low-carbon transition is already set out in the National Climate Policy Position, published in April 2014, I do not consider it either appropriate or necessary to include a national 2050 target in legislation.

Finally, with respect to climate justice, one of the most effective ways of lessening the effects of climate change in developing countries is for developed countries such as Ireland to engage in developing further their national mitigation measures in respect of greenhouse gas emissions, and the Bill provides for just such action. Ensuring that all citizens have the option and means to access information and participate in the development of climate policies and actions that affect them is a further crucial action to ensure that climate change and our response to it protects and promotes the rights of all and again the Bill provides for that participation.

Furthermore, it should be noted that Ireland, through the EU, is active in the international negotiations that aim to deliver a legally binding global agreement on combatting climate change at the next Conference of the Parties in Paris in December 2015. The Bill recognises the importance of these international discussions in terms of having regard to existing obligations under international agreements.

By providing support to those countries that need it to respond and adapt to climate change, we can ensure that Ireland's transition is part of a global transition to a more climate-resilient world. It would be important to note in this context that despite difficult economic circumstances, Ireland has maintained significant support, primarily through public finance, for climate action on adaptation in developing countries. While the vast majority of Ireland's annual climate finance comes from Irish Aid, Ireland's overseas development programme which falls under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, it should also be noted that my own Department also made a contribution of €33 million over two years during the Fast-Start Finance period (2010-2012), supporting the Global Climate Change Alliance and the Least Developed Countries Fund. Ireland has maintained significant support, reporting €34 million in 2013 in climate finance, mostly for adaptation projects in Ireland's key partner countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Work is continuing to explore options of how to maintain and enhance such support well into the future.

Photo of Anne FerrisAnne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
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898. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason the Government has extended to two years the deadline to provide a national mitigation plan under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11777/15]

Photo of Alan KellyAlan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The deadline of 24 months referred to within the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill represents a maximum deadline and all reasonable efforts will be made to provide for a National Mitigation Plan in advance of that legislative deadline. In developing the National Mitigation Plan, it will be necessary however to ensure that the Plan will comply with the principles and requirements of EU Directive 2001/42/EC and the European Communities (Environmental Assessment of Certain Plans and Programmes) Regulations 2004 to 2011 and the Appropriate Assessment provisions of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011. The development of the Plan will be an iterative process and will be informed by the outcome of various stages of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) processes. Both of these processes will also involve a number of statutory consultative phases at different stages of the development of the Plan.

In addition to the statutory consultations required under the SEA and AA legislation, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill provides for a consultation process on the draft National Mitigation Plan. I propose to allow a significant period of time for the public and stakeholders to express their views and provide input to the continued development of the Plan. For these reasons, it is considered that a maximum of a two-year period will be required to develop the Plan.

In developing this National Mitigation Plan, I intend to continue my commitment to openness and inclusiveness. Building on the opportunities already provided to the general public and stakeholders to submit views on the sectoral elements of the Plan through previous public participatory pro cesses over the last year or so, I will shortly be inviting the views of the public and stakeholders on the preparation of the overall National Mitigation Plan currently being developed. I am particularly looking forward to receiving input from all interested parties on how we might address the specific challenges ahead and what economic opportunities might arise in moving towards a low-carbon sustainable economic future.

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