Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 January 2014
141. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a list of all processes currently being undertaken within Government to determine climate change mitigation policy and the public participation opportunities incorporated in those processes. [3291/14]
View answer142. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a list of all processes currently being undertaken within Government to determine climate change adaptation policy and the public participation opportunities incorporated in those process. [3325/14]
View answer143. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the research that has been commissioned by his Department on climate change mitigation and-or adaptation over the past year; and if he will supply a copy of the terms of reference for any such research. [3330/14]
View answer150. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the processes he is currently undertaking to determine climate change mitigation policy; and if he will detail the public participation opportunities incorporated in those processes. [3108/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 141 to 143, inclusive, and 150 together.
The Programme for the development of national climate policy and legislation, which I issued in January 2012 in response to a request from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht, is the process under which national greenhouse gas mitigation policy and climate change adaptation policy are being progressed. In addition to the comprehensive open consultation undertaken by my Department in 2012, the Oireachtas Joint Committee facilitated a round of stakeholder engagement on the final policy analysis report from the Secretariat to the National Social and Economic Council and the outline Heads of the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill which I released in February 2013. I am now considering the Joint Committee's report, as well as a range of other issues, with a view to finalising the draft Heads of the Bill as soon as possible. Subject to the approval of Government, my intention is to publish the final Heads before Easter 2014.
In anticipation of the planned primary legislation, a National Low-Carbon Roadmap to 2050 is now being developed. At present, Departments with responsibility for the key sectors in the national transition agenda are currently preparing the sectoral elements for incorporation into the national roadmap. The key sectors are electricity generation, the built environment, transport and agriculture.
To ensure that the roadmapping process is inclusive, informed and transparent, the public has already been invited, by the Departments concerned, to input to the sectoral work on electricity generation, agriculture and transport. A public consultation paper on the built environment, which is being developed jointly by my Department and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is at an advanced stage and will be issued for consultation shortly. Feedback through these sectoral consultations will input into the key sectoral contributions to the first draft National Low-Carbon Roadmap which I intend to release, together with a draft Strategic Environment Assessment, for a substantial period of open consultation later this year. My intention is to ensure that the first draft national roadmap will be informed and technically sound, and provide a solid basis for a constructive, transparent and inclusive open debate.
In addition to a direct involvement in the sectoral element of the roadmapping process related to the built environment, my Department’s responsibility for overall coordination of national climate policy, both mitigation and adaptation, constitutes a major contribution to the development of national greenhouse gas emission reduction policies and actions. Having facilitated the comprehensive open consultation at the outset of the national policy development Programme, my Department will also lead and coordinate the open consultation on the draft National Low-Carbon Roadmap and Strategic Environment Assessment which will conclude the Programme later this year.
In parallel to the mitigation agenda, the National Climate Change Adaptation Framework which I issued in December 2012 provides for the development and implementation of sectoral and local adaptation action plans which will form part of a comprehensive national response to the impacts of climate change. Under the framework, sectoral plans will be developed by the relevant Government Department or Agency and adopted by the relevant Minister. Draft sectoral plans are due to be published by mid-2014, and details of the lead Departments and Agencies are set out in section 4 of the framework. On stakeholder consultation, the framework states that “Government Departments and bodies will adopt an open, transparent, and inclusive approach to sectoral adaptation planning, with interested organisations and stakeholders being given early and adequate opportunity to input to the process of preparing adaptation plans”.
Local adaptation action planning will be undertaken by local authorities. The national framework states that "the spatial planning process, with full engagement of key stakeholders, provides an established means through which to implement and integrate climate change objectives, including adaptation, at local level". On stakeholder consultation, the framework adds that "local authorities will continue to consult and encourage partnership with stakeholders when addressing adaptation matters at a local level, particularly through the open and participative process for making development plans, into which local adaptation planning is to be integrated".
My Department has not commissioned any research on greenhouse gas mitigation or climate change adaptation over the past year. However, my Department sought technical support from the Economic and Social Research Institute and University College Cork on low-carbon roadmapping, and on modelling in the context of the 2030 EU framework for climate and energy policies. This work relates generally to scenario modelling for the purpose of informing and bringing technical robustness to preparation of the first National Low-Carbon Roadmap for 2050, and Irish engagement in EU climate policy development for 2030. My Department's work, with the benefit of the technical support which it is receiving from ESRI/UCC, is key to finalising an informed and technically sound draft national roadmap for consultation later this year. In the interest of a transparent and inclusive debate on the draft National Low-Carbon Roadmap, I will consider releasing the technical background work on roadmapping for the purposes of the consultation.
