Climate law important for State's duties, says Gormley

LEGISLATION ON climate change to be introduced next year will be “the cornerstone of our efforts to meet ever more demanding national and international obligations”, said Minister for the Environment John Gormley.

He told the Dáil the legislation would put Ireland’s climate change strategy on a statutory footing. The Bill will also establish a climate change committee with an office of climate change to be located in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which will “develop a system of monitoring and reporting” and will “impose statutory obligations on Government departments and public bodies”.

Introducing his third “carbon budget”, the Minister said building a “low carbon society” would “create upwards of 80,000 jobs”.

He added: “No tax has been subjected to the level of consideration and economic analysis as the carbon levy” which changes the relative price of fuels based on CO2 emissions and aims to change consumption patterns.

The yield from the levy is expected to be €250 million in 2010. “We will channel this money to make the country more energy efficient and to boost the economy and employment. We will use €130 million to retro-fit homes throughout the country.” Fine Gael environment spokesman Phil Hogan said the Minister had indicated “that to reduce the national herd would make a major contribution to reducing our agricultural emissions. I do not see any similar impetus being made” in implementing proposals on electric vehicles.

Fine Gael energy spokesman Simon Coveney’s major objection to the carbon charging strategy was that “we are continuing not only to allow energy generators to use carbon-based fuels with no charge to them, but on top of that we are requiring them to charge consumers for something that is costing them nothing and attaching a carbon element to electricity charges”.

Chairman of the committee on climate change Seán Barrett said the Minister needed to assure the House that the carbon level and all the money from it “will be ring-fenced and that a clear statement will be made each year on how much and exactly where it was spent”. The Department of Finance “should not be allowed to touch this money if it is called a carbon levy”.

Labour environment spokeswoman Joanna Tuffy said there was a slight drop in emissions last year but “nothing the Government has done has brought about that reduction. The falls in emissions are not due to acts by the Government but are largely due to the recession.” Labour energy spokeswoman Liz McManus said “unless we have a significant shift in the Government on the issue we will not reach our targets. We will have debates, point out matters and have agreements and disagreements but it will not happen. The Greens used to use the term “transformational approach” and that is what we need. This is not it.”

Sinn Féin environment spokesman Martin Ferris warned that “if carbon tax is to work effectively, it should be revenue neutral whereas the measure introduced in the Budget is another means to increase revenue and, in common with most of the other measures implemented, it falls disproportionately on people who are feeling the impact of the current austerity programme”.

He added: “Nothing in the manner in which it will be implemented will encourage people to use public transport rather than their own cars.”