Posts from "Oisín Coghlan"
Oisín Coghlan has been Director of Friends of the Earth Ireland since 2005. Oisín heads the panel of representatives of the Environmental Pillar of Social Partnership and sits on the National Economic and Social Council (NESC). read more
A thoughtful Dáil speech on the challenge of framing a forward-looking climate policy
Posted on October 17, 2011 by Oisín Coghlan
I came across this thoughtful and constructive speech on the importance of climate legislation and the progress that was made in building all-party agreement in the last Dáil. It was made in reponse to Minister John Gormley's last Carbon Budget speech on 16th December last year.
How quickly can you identify who made it?
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Statements on the carbon budget allows Parliament to reflect on the progress, or otherwise, being made in various sectors in meeting the target to reduce carbon emissions by 3% annually as set out in the programme for Government three and a half years ago. Some progress has been made but some of it was probably due to the circumstances of the economic downturn.
Permanent link | Comments (0) | Categories: climatechange
All parties commit to passing climate legislation
Posted on February 17, 2011 by Oisín Coghlan
All parties have now committed to passing climate legislation in the new Dáil.
Fine Gael
The Fine Gael manifesto includes the following on page 42:
Climate Change Legislation: Fine Gael will legislate for a climate change law that sets the Kyoto and EU2020 targets in national legislation but only on the basis of all party agreement.
Download the Fine Gael manifesto here.
Labour
The Labour manifesto includes the following on page 27:
Labour's Climate Change Bill will provide certainty about government policy, and a clear pathway for emissions reduction, in line with negotiated EU targets. Labour will also work at EU level to set up a national programme for forest carbon offsets.
Permanent link | Comments (2) | Categories: climatechange
Fine Gael commits to climate legislation on all party basis
Posted on February 16, 2011 by Oisín Coghlan
The Fine Gael manifesto, published yesterday includes the following commitment to climate legislation on page 42.
11.1 Climate Change
Climate Change Legislation: Fine Gael will legislate for a climate change law that sets the Kyoto and EU2020 targets in national legislation but only on the basis of all party agreement.
You can download the manifesto here.
We're working on the cross-party support, with our allies in Stop Climate Chaos. You can join in here.
Permanent link | Comments (0) | Categories: climatechange
Micheal Martin restates Fianna Fail commitment to Climate Change Bill
Posted on February 14, 2011 by Oisín Coghlan
I got the following email from Micheál Martin today, in response to an email from me (below) on the day after his election as leader of Fianna Fáil. It reaffirms his party's commitment to Climate Change Bill that the Government published before Christmas.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <michealmartintd@eircom.net>
Date: 14 February 2011 15:32
Dear Oisin,
The protection of our environment is a priority for Fianna Fáil. We are committed to an ambitious environmental programme which includes tackling climate change. We published the Climate Change Response Bill 2010 on the 23rd December 2010 which passed first stage in the Seanad before the Dail was dissolved.
Permanent link | Comments (0) | Categories: climatechange
Positive noises as Oireachtas Committee publishes Climate Change Bill
Posted on October 14, 2010 by Oisín Coghlan
Yesterday the Oireachtas Climate Change Committee published a full Climate Change Bill with support from the members of the Committee from all parties. Read the committee's press release here.
Ministers Gormley and Cuffe responded with a pretty positive press release welcoming the Committee's Bill and, more importantly saying the Government Bill would be agreed and published "in the very near future". Earlier in the day the Taoiseach told the Dáil that the draft climate bill would be published "soon".
Friends of the Earth has also welcomed the Committee's Bill and urged the Government to build on this expression of consensus by bringing its own bill to the house as soon as possible before Christmas.
Today's Irish Times has a short report on it.
Permanent link | Categories: climatechange
Policy-making 21st century style: by tweet
Posted on May 29, 2009 by Oisín Coghlan
I didn't expect the public announcement that the Government will bring in climate legislation to come via Twitter but that's what happened just before lunchtime yesterday.
Yesterday was the culmination of a month long push to get the Government to provide long promised time for a new debate of the Climate Protection Bill in the Seanad. That's the bill Ivana Bacik drafted for us to launch our climate law campaign back in 2007 and introduced in the Seanad when she became a Trinity Senator.
Permanent link | Comments (0) | Categories: climatechange • climate law • Ivana Bacik • Eamon Ryan • Dan Boyle • Greens • Green Party
Greens flexing muscles not jumping ship
Posted on May 18, 2009 by Oisín Coghlan
I'm puzzled by the political analysis in the media since Dan Boyle called for a review of the Programme for Government last Friday. Every piece I've read concludes that the Greens are, in Stephen Collins words in today's Irish Times, "positioning themselves for a withdrawal from coalition in the not too distant future".
Permanent link | Comments (0) | Categories: climatechange • Greens • Green Party
Minister and I differ over Ireland's position on emissions cuts
Posted on December 01, 2008 by Oisín Coghlan
I expect to disagree with the Government from time to time on the positions they take on climate change policy. That's what campaigners and governments do after all.
I don't expect to disagree about what the Government's position actually is, but that's what's happened in advance of the EU ministers meeting this week.
You can see the report on today's RTE News online here.
Permanent link | Comments (0) | Categories: climatechange • EU • EU package •
UN Climate Talks start in Poland
Posted on December 01, 2008 by Oisín Coghlan
The latest round of UN climate talks start in Poland today in the city of Poznan. Poznan is the birth place of Copernincus the first man to suggest that the Earth revolved around the sun rather than the other way around. Where better to get down to the serious business of agreeing how to avoid trapping so much of the Sun's heat in the atmosphere that we tip the climate system into chaos.
The deadline for a global agreement is 12 months time in Copenhagen so for the next two weeks 9000 delegates and campaigners will decend on Poznan to hammer out the outlines of a deal.
Permanent link | Comments (0) | Categories: climatechange • Poznan • COP • COP/MOP • UNFCCC
