Climate Change Bill 2015

The Irish Government has recently published draft legislation regarding Ireland’s policies to tackle climate change and to reduce Carbon emissions between now and 2050. This legislation, titled “The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015”, provides a framework for the creation of a series of five-yearly “National Low Carbon Transition and Mitigation Plans” (or “National Mitigation Plans”). These plans will set out Ireland’s approach to reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions nationally in line with the EU’s "20-20-20" targets and our wider international commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

These National Mitigation Plans will primarily focus on the emissions from; agriculture, energy production, transport and the built environment, as it is widely accepted that it is these sectors where the greatest mitigation is required. It is expected that these plans will introduce measures that will directly affect a range of business sectors through tighter regulation of GHG emissions. Coupled with this, are plans for local authorities to improve flood defences along with the protection of key infrastructure, such as power and communication from extreme weather. This should come as some relief to businesses, many of whom have been adversely affected by extreme weather events in recent years.

For now, the draft legislation does not include any new targets for GHG emission reductions and instead adopts the emission limits set out in existing EU legislation. The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015 can be viewed at www.oireachtas.ie and the submission of views on the development of Ireland’s first National Mitigation Plan will run until Friday 31st July 2015 and can be sent to:

NationalMitigationPlan@environ.ie

July 2015