Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 November 2018
544. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of Ireland's commitments to the Accord de Paris; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48297/18]
View answerI will lead on the development of an all of government plan which will set out the actions which must be taken in every government department and body to make Ireland a leader in responding to climate change, not a follower. I will work with colleagues across government to develop new initiatives across electricity, transport, heat, as well as a range of other sectors. The Paris Agreement, which entered into force in November 2016, aims to hold the global average temperature increase to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit this increase to 1.5 °C. Additionally, the Agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change through resilience and adaptation, and to make finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.
The Agreement is designed to meet this objective through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted by all parties to the Agreement.
Ireland will contribute to meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement through the NDC submitted by the EU on behalf of its Member States, which commits the EU to a 40% reduction in EU-wide emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. In this context, the EU has undertaken to reduce emissions in sectors covered by the Emissions Trading System (ETS) by 43%, and has agreed binding targets for each Member State for those emissions falling outside the ETS. Ireland will be required to achieve a 30% reduction on 2005 levels of emissions by 2030 for emissions outside the ETS.
Ireland is committed, together with its EU partners, to finalising at the COP 24 climate conference next month, the rules through which the Paris Agreement will drive adaptation, mitigation, transparency and capacity-building action.
