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Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change
25
change impacts for Ireland and the
identification of adaptation options.
The EPA has recently launched two
reports on climate change adaptation
as discussed in the section on
Climate Change Impacts and
Adaptation below.
Climate-Change Legislation
The 2011 Programme for
Government includes a commitment
to publish climate legislation to give
certainty and clarity in relation to
the reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions to be achieved by Ireland
in line with EU targets. In November
2011, the Minister for Environment,
Community and Local Government
announced a review of National
Climate Policy in order to develop
the necessary policy mix to support
an ambitious, but realistic national
mitigation agenda based on a three-
pronged approach:
1. a public consultation, initiated by
the Minister in 2012, to enable
all stakeholders to engage in the
policy development process;
2. an independent study to be
carried out by the secretariat to
the National Economic and Social
Council (NESC);
3. sectoral mitigation progress,
to be pursued through the
Cabinet Committee on Climate
Change and the Green Economy,
based on positive engagement
with the relevant Government
departments where progress must
be made to meet legally-binding
EU targets.
In January 2012, the Minister
issued a work programme setting
out the steps and milestones
for the development of national
climate policy and legislation. This
programme includes the publication
of the final report from the NESC
secretariat and the heads of a
Climate Bill by the end of 2012.
Mitigation of GHG Emissions
Ireland uses a range of policy
instruments, both domestic and
EU, to advance mitigation of GHGs
across the main economic sectors.
These include the EU Emissions
Trading Scheme and CAP reform; a
national carbon tax; and policies to
promote the uptake of renewable
energies and to advance low-
emission transport options.
Emissions Trading Scheme
The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)
is the EU’s cornerstone climate
change mitigation programme. The
EPA is responsible for implementing
the ETS in Ireland. The scheme
works on a ‘cap and trade’ basis
whereby companies must keep their
emissions below the level of their
allocated emissions cap or buy extra
allowances on the market.
Figures 2.5 and 2.6 show that
while CO
2
emissions for the EU25
(Bulgaria and Romania joined the ETS
in 2008) as a whole increased over
the first three years (2005–2007),
the opposite occurred in Ireland. In
the second three years (2008–2010)
greenhouse gas emissions from
installations covered by the scheme
show significant decreases. It is as
yet unclear whether the reduction
in emissions is due solely to the
impact of the recession, or whether
the economic driver of the cost of
allowances actually encouraged real
reductions. Nonetheless the ‘cap’ on
emissions under the EU Emissions
Trading Scheme will progressively
reduce over the next decade as
set out under the EU Climate and