The AgClimatise Strategy is intended to deliver upon the ambition set out in the Climate Action Plan 2019, which is designed to meet Ireland's existing EU climate targets. My Department, including relevant Agencies under its aegis, was included in the engagement exercise conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine during the development of the AgClimatise Roadmap.
Following the guidance of the European Council given on 10-11 December 2020, an agreement was reached on a general approach on the proposal for a European Climate Law at the Environment Council on 17 December 2020. This includes agreement to update the existing EU greenhouse gas emissions reduction target to at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990. This new target is a significant increase in ambition from the current EU 2030 target of a 40% reduction. The EU subsequently submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which is an essential part of the obligations to be fulfilled under the Paris Agreement.
This development at EU level, along with the step change in climate ambition set out in the Programme for Government, will need to be reflected appropriately in the next iteration of the Climate Action Plan. Far reaching policy changes will be developed across every sector, including agriculture, to reach this high level of ambition.
