Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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66. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if decisions taken by the Government itself, as opposed to Ministers or Departments, will be exempted from and outside the scope of any obligation to have regard to the objective of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the effects of climate change in the State in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11556/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment)  Bill will provide for a whole-of-Government approach to address climate change with the purpose of achieving the transition to a climate resilient, biodiversity rich and climate neutral economy by the end of the year 2050.  The Bill will significantly strengthen the statutory framework for climate governance, with appropriate oversight by Government, the Oireachtas and a strengthened Climate Change Advisory Council. The Bill will introduce new legal obligations including enacting an objective to achieve a climate neutral economy by 2050 at the latest, embedding a process of carbon budgeting including sectoral emissions ceilings, providing for the preparation of an annual update to Climate Action Plan and a National Long-term Climate Strategy every five years.

The Minister and Government will be required to take account of, or to have regard to, specified matters in preparing the relevant plans, strategies and carbon budgeting system established to support the achievement of the Bill's objectives. The plans, strategies, carbon budgets, and sectoral emissions ceilings to be established on a statutory footing under the Bill will require Government approval in order to be adopted and implemented. 

The Bill will provide that these requirements, as well as the procedural aspects that will apply to them, will be statutory obligations for the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, for relevant Ministers responsible for sectors to which a sectoral emissions ceiling will apply, and for the Government as a whole. This will place a clear obligation on this and future governments for sustained climate action to ensure carbon budget ceilings are met.