Austin Currie
Question:61 Mr. Currie asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will report on the energy implications for Ireland of the recent Kyoto conference; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22768/97]
Written Answers. - Kyoto Conference.
Trevor Sargent
Question:64 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the Government's current position on this country's targets in relation to restricting greenhouse gases in view of the agreement reached at the Kyoto conference. [2470/98]
John Gormley
Question:85 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if the Government will seek any further derogation in reducing greenhouse gases in view of decisions made at the recent Kyoto conference. [2368/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 61, 64 and 85 together.
The Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, adopted on 11 December 1997, sets, inter alia, a legally binding target for the member states of the EU to reduce emissions of a basket of six greenhouse gases — carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride — by 8 per cent below 1990 levels in the period 2008-2012. It is intended that the EU will meet the target using provisions in the Protocol concerning joint fulfilment and on the basis of agreed internal burden sharing.
As part of the preparation of the EU negotiating position in advance of the Kyoto Conference, the Government adopted an indicative national target of limiting the increase in the emissions of three gases together — carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide — to 15 per cent above the 1990 level by the year 2010. The internal burden sharing arrangement, to which the indicative national target relates, is now subject to review in the light of the Kyoto outcome, with particular regard to the inclusion of three additional gases — hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride — the different timeframe involved and the provisions regarding the use of sinks to absorb carbon dioxide. It is expected that the review will be finalised by June this year. In the discussions in this regard at the EU Council of Environment Ministers, I intend to adhere to the level of ambition reflected in the indicative national target.
With regard to energy implications, Ireland's second national communication under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change indicates that energy consumption, through the combusion of fossil fuels, is responsible for more than 95 per cent of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions in Ireland; a copy of the communication is available in the Oireachtas Library. In order to limit the increase in emissions, a range of policies and measures have been put in place to improve general levels of efficiency in energy production and consumption. These include energy efficiency and conservation measures in the industrial, residential, commercial, transport and institutional sectors, improving the efficiency of, and reducing the level of carbon intensity in, electricity production through fuel switching and the development of renewable energy resources, and managing growth in electricity demand. The range of policies and measures is discussed in the second national communication, together with policies and measures in other relevant sectors.
In addition, new building regulations, with enhanced energy efficiency requirements, have been recently introduced and the 1998 budget announced the introduction of tax reliefs for corporate investment in renewable energy products such as wind and biomass.
A consultancy study to identify and evaluate the scope for intensifying existing and developing additional policies and measures to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions is expected to be completed shortly. It will be necessary for future policy development in all relevant sectors, including the energy sector, to have regard to climate change considerations, including the obligations in the Kyoto Protocol and developments at EU level. The conclusions of the consultancy study to which I have referred will assist in this regard.