New climate Bill to set no binding CO2 targets

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The Irish Times

HARRY McGEE Political Correspondent

Draft legislation on climate change to be brought to Cabinet tomorrow will not provide for binding targets for emission reductions, nor a powerful independent commission to ensure Government compliance.

Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan will bring the heads of the Climate Change Bill to the weekly meeting of Government Ministers tomorrow, with a view to publishing the final legislation by the end of the year.

The draft legislation is based on the final report on climate change strategy by the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), which will also be published tomorrow.

Marked departure

The NESC report, which has been seen by The Irish Times, argues for a marked departure from the type of legislation in the UK, also proposed by previous minister for the environment John Gormley. It put binding targets for emissions reduction on a statutory footing and the Government's performance was evaluated by an independent climate change commission.

The NESC said it agreed strongly with the Coalition's argument that Ireland needed to move beyond a "compliance-centric approach".

In a critical review of the top-down "linear" approach adopted internationally, particularly by the United Nations, the report found such initiatives (including the Kyoto protocol) have had limited impact and that the international approach has not worked.

The report argues that, for Ireland to become a carbon neutral country by 2050, the State needs to focus not only on the scale of emission reductions but equally on the steps, strategies and policies required to bring about carbon neutrality.

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Climate Change