Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2015
841. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the way Ireland is engaging with other European countries in crafting 2030 climate targets which target the most cost-effective means of reducing emissions; the potential he envisages in reducing emissions from that sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29045/15]
View answerThe 2030 Climate and Energy Framework, as agreed at the European Council in October 2014, provides for a binding target to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. To achieve the overall 40% target, the sectors covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) will have to reduce their emissions by 43% compared to 2005. Emissions from sectors outside the EU ETS will need to reduce their emissions by 30% below the 2005 level. This 30% reduction has now to be translated into national mitigation targets for individual Member States.
Ireland has actively engaged and will continue to actively engage with the European Commission and with other EU Member States in the ongoing discussions in relation to non-ETS effort sharing arrangements among Member States, to be proposed in 2016. The European Council Conclusions of October 2014 provide the European Commission with certain guidance on how this should be approached. In particular, the targets should be set, in the first instance, on the basis of GDP per capita, but for those Member States with higher-than-average GDP per capita, adjustments may be made to the targets whereby cost effectiveness should be reflected in a fair and balanced manner.
