Ireland can raise its head again, Honorable Minister Eamonn Ryan He said with the entry into force of new climate laws.
resident Michael D Higgins She signed the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) bill into law today, legally committing current and future governments to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
The landmark law also establishes a duty to reach ‘carbon neutrality’, with any remaining emissions offset by removals by natural or technical means, by 2050.
«There is no turning back» now, said Climate Action Secretary Eamon Ryan.
«It’s a very important day for Irish climate policy,» he said.
“We will have to change everything but he will change it for the better.
“We don’t have much time now. We can see the impact of climate change around the world and the loss of life.
Really drastic measures are needed to stop this and the bill will help.
«We can raise our heads again. We have a lot of work to do – no one should be complacent – but we have good systems ready to take the next step.»
Among the next steps is the finalization of new regulations for carbon accounting – the way emissions and removals will be measured.
«Carbon budgets» will also be established to determine how much emissions are allowed for each sector of society and the economy, such as transportation, agriculture and energy production, over the next 10 years.
How sectors cut emissions to stay within budget will be guided by the revised National Climate Action Plan, due to be published in September.
The government wants to go to the United Nations climate conference, COP26, in November with a lot of those details tied up.
«It’s a tight schedule but we’ve always known a lot of work was done beforehand to get us ready for this moment. Far from sitting back, now is the time to hurry up,» Ryan said.
The passage of the law, which was key to the Green Party’s entry into government, was not without controversy.
Mr. Ryan initially refused to accept any of the more than 200 amendments submitted by opposition parties, many of which reflect the concerns of environmental and legal science experts who have expressed reservations that the bill was not strong enough and that its wording lacked water-tightness to prevent backsliding. by future governments.
He eventually agreed to a few, but drew criticism for its last-minute inclusion of many who were said to favor the agribusiness lobby.
Activists said the move, which has strengthened ministers’ powers to regulate carbon accounts, means decisions can be made about policy, not science.
Ryan defended the amendments, stressing that the regulations would follow EU and UN accounting rules.
Young climate activists also criticized the bill, who said it was not radical enough to be effective.
“I would tell them to keep pushing and not stop demanding more. They’re right to be extreme, they’re right to sound the alarm,” Ryan said.
«They need to maintain that because that will help in terms of having leverage for the kind of change we need to make.»
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