The National Climate Change Strategy, which was published in November 2000 and is available in the Oireachtas Library, sets a ten-year framework for achieving the necessary greenhouse gas emissions reductions to ensure that Ireland complies with the Kyoto Protocol. The strategy identifies a range of cross sectoral and sector specific measures to achieve the necessary reductions equitably, and with economic and environmental efficiency.
Implementation of the strategy is being co-ordinated by a cross-departmental climate change team which is chaired by my Department and has met on fifteen occasions since January 2001.
In addition to overseeing the successful implementation of the strategy, the team has established necessary consultative arrangements and will develop a robust and comprehensive set of indicators at a sectoral and national level, oversee the quantification of costs and benefits of implementing specific measures, and undertake the biennial review of the strategy, beginning in 2002, in consultation with Comhar.
Work is under way on the development of a long-term communications strategy addressing awareness of climate change, and Comhar has prepared proposals for this; sub-groups on inventory data, emissions trading, negotiated agreements with industry, and economic analysis have also been established.
The team is finalising a progress report on implementation of the strategy which I intend to publish shortly. In the interim, information on detailed progress with the quantified indicative reductions proposed in the strategy may appropriately be sought from the Departments and/or agencies concerned.
In so far as my Department is concerned, I refer to my reply to Question No. 158 on today's Order Paper as regards fuel economy labelling for new passenger cars. I published consultation documents on the revision of Part L of the national building regulations in September 2001 which relate to the conservation of fuel and energy which bring forward the operative date for improved standards from 2005 to 2002. The new standards are estimated to reduce the requirements for space and water heating by 23% to 33%, depending on the type and size of the dwelling, and on current patterns of fuel use, a reduction of 300,000 tonnes CO2 per annum for 2012 is anticipated.