Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2021
224. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the progress made in preparing a new sustainable development strategy taking Ireland’s commitments directly into account as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals National Implementation Plan 2018-2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26537/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) National Implementation Plan 2018 – 2020 was developed to oversee and facilitate coherent implementation of the SDGs across Government, and to promote awareness of the SDGs. The SDG Plan included a commitment to prepare a new sustainable development strategy to replace Our Sustainable Future, which remained Ireland’s national sustainable development strategy in 2018. A review of actions that were not fully achieved during the lifetime of the first SDG National Implementation Plan was recently undertaken, to inform preparation of the next SDG Plan due for publication later this year. While a new sustainable development strategy was not completed during the period of the first SDG Plan, the national policy space surrounding sustainable development has evolved significantly since the SDG National Implementation Plan was adopted in 2018, and a number of complementary Government plans and strategies have been produced which include targeted actions and measures to deliver Ireland’s sustainable development objectives. Some further details on these policies which my Department are leading on are set out below: -The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement require transformational shift across all sectors towards a climate resilient and sustainable economy and society. The Climate Action Plan 2019, published in June 2019, provided the first framework of actions necessary across all sectors to deliver the integrated policy required to achieve our 2030 EU climate targets (which are to be revised upwards shortly) and put us on a pathway to climate neutrality by 2030.
- A public consultation was launched in March 2021 to inform the Climate Action Plan 2021, which will build on the Climate Action Plan 2019, and provide additional actions necessary to meet the Programme for Government climate ambition, as well as ensuring we meet any revised EU targets.
- In September 2020, the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy was published, which provides Ireland’s new roadmap for waste planning and management. The Plan outlines the contribution of the sector to support the achievement of a number of other national plans and policies including the Climate Action Plan. It also matches the level of ambition being shown across the European Union through the European Green Deal, which encompasses a range of actions supporting circularity and sustainability. To support the policy, regulation is already being used (Circular Economy Legislative Package), or in the pipeline (Single Use Plastics Directive).
- Further cementing the commitment to Ireland’s transition to a circular economy, the Waste Action Plan commits to develop Ireland’s First Whole-of-Government Circular Economy Strategy to set a course for Ireland to transition across all sectors and at all levels of government toward circularity. The Department is currently finalising a draft which will be issued for public consultation shortly. All committed SDG actions will be reviewed in the context of developing the next SDG Implementation Plan later this year.
