CLIMATE CHANGE poses a challenge for Ireland comparable in scale to the Northern Ireland peace process or the economic crisis, Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore has said.
Mr Gilmore said yesterday the gravity of the situation demanded a major national response and it was the responsibility of Taoiseach Brian Cowen to provide the leadership behind that response.
“There is historical precedence. When there are major national issues that need to be addressed like the Northern Ireland peace process, the European Union, social partnership during the economic crisis in the 1980s, the political responsibility is transferred to the Taoiseach.
“Climate change targets need now to be seen in the same way as the peace process in Northern Ireland. The Taoiseach must take responsibility for it,” he said.
Mr Gilmore was addressing a public forum on climate change organised by his party and by Friends of the Earth. The theme of the forum, held in the EU Parliament offices in Dublin, was the need to introduce climate change legislation in Ireland.
British diplomat Nina Mackenzie and Mike Childs of Friends of the Earth in Britain outlined the effects of the Climate Change Act introduced in the UK last year.
Labour’s spokeswoman on energy Liz McManus said the party was the first to produce a Bill on climate change in Ireland.
It sets a national objective of a 80 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with an interim target of 30 per cent by 2020. The latter compares to the current EU target of 20 per cent.
Ms McManus said it was immensely frustrating to see that Government departments were not working together to reduce emissions. It was imperative that the Taoiseach attend the global climate change talks in Copenhagen later this year.
Ms Mackenzie said that the legislation in the UK had led to the first carbon budget, delivered earlier this year. It contained provisions for green technology, a commitment that the economic recovery would be sustainable, plus a target of cutting emissions by 34 per cent by 2020.
On the Copenhagen talks, she said that Britain expected a mixed response. She said that “75 per cent of global emissions will come from developing countries over the next two decades”.
“The UK believes that developed countries should take the lead,” said Ms Mackenzie.
Mr Childs said cross-party support was essential for the success of the legislation in the UK. “It not only binds the hand of this government, it binds the hands of all future governments,” he said.
The key elements of the legislation were the introduction of five-year carbon budgets and the establishment of an expert committee of economists, scientists and other experts which advises the government on targets, Mr Childs added. So far, it has recommended a decarbonised electricity supply by the mid 2020s and a major shift towards electric vehicles.
Oisín Coghlan of Friends of the Earth Ireland said cross-party support was very important and that was why his organisation was working with all parties.
Political paralysis as clock ticks on climate change: page 13
