MINISTER FOR the Environment Phil Hogan’s announcement of a firm timetable for the adoption of national policy and legislation on climate change has been widely welcomed, even by his critics.
Friends of the Earth director Oisín Coghlan said while the timetable “lacks urgency” it sets out “in impressive detail” a step-by-step plan to pass climate legislation by the end of next year – with a view to meeting EU targets for 2020.
The road map, which foresees publication of the heads of a Climate Bill in the last quarter of this year, “provides welcome certainty and clarity about the Government’s commitment to passing a climate law and outlines the opportunities for public participation”.
Mr Coghlan added that publication of the timetable was due “in no small part due to the vigilance of the Oireachtas environment committee”, chaired by Ciarán Lynch TD (Labour), which called on the Minister last month to clarify his plans in this area.
Mr Lynch claimed credit for the committee “in forcing the pace on this legislation”, and said the road map “provides clear and detailed steps that Ireland will take over the coming years in formulating robust policy and legislation to help cut greenhouse gas emissions”.
Although the committee agreed with Mr Hogan that there were “no easy answers” to achieving the “steep emission reduction path which Ireland and other developed countries must follow in the period to 2050”, the road map provided “clear and detailed” steps.
“It is a measurable approach which lays out in detail how the implementation of climate change legislation will be achieved,” Mr Lynch said, adding that this was an example of the Oireachtas reform programme where committees could work to progress legislation.
“We are particularly heartened about the key role the committee will have in helping to develop policy and ... engage on actual options for policy development when it will provide its views on the National Economic and Social Council’s report on national climate policy.”
He said the committee would have a “central role” in the policy development process, “most importantly on the critical issue of coming to a clear national understanding of how we will meet our binding EU and wider international mitigation commitments”.
Mr Hogan’s “work programme” includes public consultations in the first half of this year, followed by publication of an initial report by the National Economic and Social Council on potential policies and the development of heads of a Climate Bill by the end of this year.
The council would then produce a final report for consideration by the Oireachtas committee and heads of a Bill in the first half of 2013, Mr Hogan said.
Ibec, the business lobby group, welcomed the the road map, saying it had “consistently argued that relevant government departments and State agencies need to work together to develop ... a cost-effective plan to meet the very challenging 2020 mitigation targets”.
Neil Walker, Ibec’s head of environment policy, said the recent UN climate conference in Durban had “given impetus to the European Commission’s longer-term policy goals”. However a “key consideration” would be Ireland’s economic competitiveness.