Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 March 2015
895. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for the 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]
View answer896. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for the 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]
View answer897. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for the 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]
View answerI 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 officio members 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 officio members 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 combating 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.
