Vol. 487 No. 3
206 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will promote, at EU level, a unilateral commitment for the EU to reduce emissions of six greenhouse gases by 7.5 per cent by 2005 and by 15 per cent by 2010 in view of environmental urgency and the unsatisfactory result of Kyoto and the Commission's communication, the EU approach to Kyoto. [3794/98]
212 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will promote, at EU level, a unilateral commitment for the EU to reduce emissions of six greenhouse gases by 7.5 per cent by 2005 and by 15 per cent by 2010 in view of environmental urgency and the unsatisfactory result of Kyoto and the Commission's communication entitled the EU approach to Kyoto. [3916/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 206 and 212 together.
The EU negotiating position in advance of the Kyoto Conference in December 1997 proposed that developed country parties, individually or jointly, should reduce emissions levels for carbon dioxide, CO 2, methane, CH 4, and nitrous oxide, N 2 O, together by at least 7.5 per cent and 15 per cent below 1990 levels by 2005 and 2010 respectively. This was not a unilateral commitment and was subject to the acceptance of comparable commitments by other developed countries. The communication from the European Commission "Climate Change — The EU Approach for Kyoto", published in October 1997, concluded "that the (EU) emission reduction targets are technically feasible and economically manageable in the EU only if all industrialised countries make comparable reduction efforts".
In December 1997 the Council of Environment Ministers was advised that the Commission will, for the meeting of the Environment Council in March 1998, present an analysis of the move from an objective of -15 per cent for three gases to an objective of -8 per cent for the six gases now covered by the protocol so that the effects can be assessed precisely. The Council also noted that the Commission will review, for discussion at the Environment Council in June 1998, the Communication which it had put forward for the Kyoto Conference.
Ireland will be actively participating at EU level in the detailed consideration of the issues involved. I have already indicated my intention to adhere to the level of ambition implicit in Ireland's indicative national growth limitation target of 15 per cent which was part of the internal burden sharing agreement associated with the EU negotiating position.
