I thank the Chairman and committee members for inviting us to discuss the report of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to the committee for the period July to December 2008. We welcome the committee's interest in the work of the Department as it relates to the European Union. We also welcome opportunities to engage with the Joint Committees on Climate Change and Energy Security and the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when proposals are referred to them for further scrutiny.
The overarching EU policy for the environment is set out in the Sixth Environment Action Programme. The priorities of each Presidency fit into that programme, which covers the ten year period until July 2012. The programme identified key environmental priorities to be met in the areas of climate change; nature and biodiversity; environment, health and quality of life; and natural resources and waste. As environmental policy must interact with other sectors, a combination of instruments is used to progress initiatives in these areas. These include thematic strategies and Council conclusions as well as legislative instruments. Thematic strategies and Council conclusions particularly influence other sectors, promote coherence among a range of EU policies and identify and establish necessary links.
Having outlined the overall context of EU actions for the environment, I will now give a brief overview of the past, present and future Presidencies. France had the Presidency for the second half of 2008. It is fair to say that the French realised their environmental ambitions for their Presidency. The period was dominated by efforts to reach agreement on the climate-energy legislative package. Intensive negotiations resulted in the package being agreed on 12 December by Heads of State and Government at the last European Council meeting of the year and by the European Parliament on 17 December.
The Czech Republic, the current holder of the Presidency, is the second of the new Eastern European member states to have the Presidency since their accession in 2004. The Czech Presidency identified climate change, the protection of human health and the environment, sustainable consumption and the protection of biodiversity as environmental priorities. A number of legislative proposals have been agreed, including regulations on ozone and trade in seal products and revised eco-label and environmental management regulations. A decision adopted on whaling established EU positions with regard to proposals for amendments to the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling. These proposals will be considered at next month's meeting of the International Commission on Whaling. EU positions are positive in regard to the conservation of whales.
Other legislative proposals on which discussions are ongoing in Brussels include directives on industrial emissions and soil. A regulation on construction products is being discussed by the Competitiveness Council working group. That regulation would replace the construction products directive. The aim of the proposal is to clarify and reduce the administrative burden, particularly for small and medium sized enterprises.
Sweden will take up the baton from 1 July this year. In the environment area, Sweden's priorities have been identified as climate change, the eco-efficient economy, biodiversity, and the marine environment. Sweden will lead the EU delegation at the Copenhagen climate conference, which takes place in December 2009. This conference is the final stage in a process of international negotiations to find a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. Sweden is, therefore, already heavily involved in the formulation of a co-ordinated EU position as well as in preparatory talks at international level. Sweden will host discussions on the eco-efficient economy at a number of meetings during their Presidency including at informal Energy-Environment Councils in July and an informal Competitiveness Council in October. These meetings will focus on measures aimed at making the economy of the EU more environmentally sustainable
The Swedish Presidency will begin EU preparations for participation in the 10th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, due to be held in Japan in October 2010. It will also assess the financial cost of preventing biodiversity loss, as outlined in the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity report. Sweden also aims to establish an international forum for knowledge in the area of biodiversity along the lines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The Swedish Presidency aims to have an EU strategy for the Baltic Sea region presented by the European Commission in June 2009 with the target of adopting Council conclusions at the December Environment Council. Sweden hopes this strategy can become a pilot project under the marine strategy directive and set an example for other regional seas in the EU.
From this outline of the three Presidencies, the dominance of climate change on the agenda is quite clear. This has been the situation on the environment agenda for some time now and it will remain like that for the rest of this year. The EU climate and energy package, agreed in December 2008, set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the Community by 20% compared to 1990 levels. This was a unilateral EU initiative to underpin the commitment of the EU to combating climate change. It also underpins the EU's acknowledged leadership in wider international negotiations under the UNFCCC.
Since the package was agreed in December 2008, the focus for the Commission and member states on that chapter of EU climate change policy is very much on implementing the various elements of the package. In the case of my Department, the priorities are the implementation of the revisions to the emissions trading directive, the effort sharing decision on emissions from the non-emissions trading system sectors of the economy and the new regulation on CO2 emissions from cars. Work in these areas is under way. Notwithstanding the fact that the process for implementing EU policy on climate change will change significantly after 2012, particularly given the fact that the Commission will administer the EU emissions trading system, the fundamentals of Irish policy remain unchanged. The primary focus continues to be on measures to reduce domestic emissions, supported, as necessary, by the use of the approved flexible mechanisms.
The December 2008 package does not end the EU's ambition on greenhouse gas emission reductions in the period to 2020; the situation is quite the contrary. A 20% target for the EU or for the European Union and all other developed countries would not achieve the level of greenhouse gas emission reductions, which the most recent scientific advice indicates to be required. The critical priority for the EU is an ambitious international treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol for the period 2013 to 2020, and the EU is committed to raising its ambition to move to a 30% greenhouse gas emission reduction target for 2020 compared to 1990 levels in the context of a comprehensive international agreement. Ireland fully supports this objective which is in line with the scientific advice from the intergovernmental panel on climate change.
On the international side, at the 14th session of the conference of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Poznan, Poland last December agreement was reached on a solid programme of work for 2009. The first meeting of 2009 in the UN framework convention process was held in Bonn in April. The second is scheduled for the first two weeks of June and discussions will continue throughout 2009 culminating in Copenhagen in December next. Ireland fully supports the EU's position in the international negotiations and we consider it crucial that the international community reaches a global, comprehensive and ambitious climate change agreement in Copenhagen.
Two other policy areas that featured in our report for July to December 2008, are GMOs and sustainable consumption and production. GMO policy was an important area for discussion at EU level during the French Presidency. That discussion, at both official and ministerial level, was held in several fora, and culminated in the adoption of conclusions by the Environment Council in December. The thrust of the discussions and the conclusions was towards improving the existing regulatory process, which is acknowledged as being the most strict in the world. It was agreed that there is a need to further strengthen environmental assessment and monitoring arrangements for GMOs, to make better use of scientific expertise in the assessment process and to protect sensitive areas. The Czech Presidency has not engaged further in this debate but GMOs were on the agenda for the March Environment Council. At that meeting a majority of member states voted against Commission proposals to lift bans on the cultivation of certain GMO crops in Austria and Hungary. There are no indications that Sweden will prioritise debate or change in GMO legislation during the second half of this year.
I mentioned Sweden's plans to engage in discussion and debate on the eco-efficient economy. This will present the opportunity for further development of EU policy on sustainable consumption and production which is a key and overarching objective of sustainable development. During 2008 the Commission adopted a sustainable consumption and production and sustainable industrial policy plan. This plan was discussed by Ministers at the December Environment Council. It was also considered in the Competitiveness and Energy Councils indicating what a cross-governmental and cross-sectoral policy this is. The action plan contains measures to stimulate the production and use of more environmentally-friendly products and services which require fewer resources to produce and use less energy in operation. There are a number of legislative initiatives in the action plan. Those on energy and product design are the responsibility of other Departments. My Department leads on the eco-label regulation and the eco-management and audit scheme regulation, both of which have been agreed under the Presidency of the Czech Republic. The focus internationally and nationally on a green new deal and the green economy provides a useful opportunity to progress our work in the important policy area of sustainable consumption and production with a view to achieving environmental and economic objectives.
I thank the Chairman for his attention. We will be glad to further explore any matter of interest to the committee and to answer any questions arising.
