Update on Climate Action (Amendment) Bill

In recent days, I have received emails and queries about the commitment in the Programme for Government to introduce a new Climate Bill to build on the work of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, brought forward by Richard Bruton T.D. in the last Government.

I understand that the Climate Action (Amendment) Bill, as referenced in the Programme for Government, was discussed by Cabinet last week and the Heads of the draft Bill were approved. Substantial work has been done to date and the Bill is at an advanced stage of drafting, as confirmed by the Taoiseach last week.

The purpose of the Climate Action (Amendment) Bill is to strengthen the governance structure in supporting Ireland’s response to climate breakdown. The Bill, which the Government committed to introducing into the Dáil within the first 100 days of Government, will:

• Set the 2050 decarbonisation target in law.
• Provide for the adoption of five-year carbon budgets, setting maximum emissions by sector.
• Strengthen the role of the Climate Change Advisory Council, including in relation to proposing appropriate carbon budgets.

I will work with Minister Paschal Donohoe to keep you updated of developments in respect of this important piece of legislation and a key component of the Programme of the Government agreed by Fine Gael and our coalition partners across the coming weeks.