Vol. 531 No. 2
51 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the assessment which has been completed or is planned of the environmental implications for Ireland of the recent report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5137/01]
The EPA's environmental research programme, being undertaken under the Operational Programme for the Productive Sector, 2000-2006, includes a module on the assessment of the likely impacts of climate change in Ireland. This will use the most recent predictions for climate change in the third assessment report, TAR, of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, elements of which have been completed or are near completion and now in the public domain. The finalised TAR is due to be published later this year. Co-operation on this issue is also taking place under the British-Irish Council, through a subgroup which recently commenced discussion on climate change impacts and adaptation.
A study on the impacts of climate change in Ireland was undertaken in 1991, and a copy of the report Climate Change: Studies on the Implications for Ireland, edited by Brendan McWilliams, is available in the Oireachtas Library.
Question No. 52 answered with Question No. 26.
Question No. 53 answered with Question No. 39.
