Ireland: Hogan publishes climate change adaptation framework and releases summary of progress overall on national climate policy

Press release:

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Mr. Phil Hogan, T.D., today ( 28 December 2012) published the National Climate Change Adaptation Framework, and released a report on progress overall in the development of national climate policy and legislation.

The National Climate Change Adaptation Framework provides the policy context for a strategic national adaptation response to climate change in Ireland. Under the Framework, the relevant Government Departments, Agencies and local authorities have been asked to commence the preparation of sectoral and local adaptation plans and to publish drafts of these plans by mid-2014.

“This Framework plan is about equipping agencies with the analysis and tools to help people to cope with and reduce the disruption to their lives from the impacts of climate change. It will help them to understand the changes required to enhance their quality of life, and help our economic recovery and takes account of changes to climate patterns, and extreme events,” said Minister Hogan.

“Addressing climate change requires two types of action responses - mitigation and adaptation. Over the past decade or more, the predominant focus has been on strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, findings of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have revealed that some level of climate change is inevitable, irrespective of emission reduction strategies. The National Adaptation Framework is therefore a critical component in managing the harmful impacts of climate change and will be a key and necessary complement to action on mitigation.

The National Adaptation Framework, which is based on the EU approach, introduces an integrated policy framework, involving all stakeholders on all institutional levels to ensure adaptation measures are taken across different sectors and levels of government to manage and reduce Ireland's vulnerability to the negative impacts of climate change.

The Minister welcomed the approach which empowers sectors and local government to identify and manage climate adaptation requirements within their own areas. “It is important that those organisations which are most familiar with their areas of responsibility are tasked with implementing measures that have direct control in the shaping of these sectoral and local adaptation plans, supported by Government and my own Department. While the Government can and will provide leadership, effective adaptive action must be underpinned by adequate and appropriate measures at sectoral and local levels.”

Under the Framework, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government will lead and co-ordinate on international, EU and national climate adaptation policy, working as appropriate through the Cabinet Committee system. The Department will continue to support the EPA in continuing to play a lead role in building the evidence base and tools to help organisations adapt to climate change. Met Éireann will also continue the development of climate prediction systems and provision of climate services for Ireland.

The Minister also released a statement outlining the Government’s response to the June 2012 NESC Secretariat interim policy analysis report - Towards a New National Climate Policy; the statement is also available here.

The Minister pointed out that “significant progress in addressing greenhouse gas emissions had been made over the year, highlighting the extension of the carbon tax to solid fuels, and the re-structuring of VRT and motor tax as key steps on transition to a low-carbon future.”

In addition, Minister Hogan announced that Departments with responsibility for key sectors in the transition to a low carbon economy had already been tasked with the preparation of individual 2050 low-carbon roadmaps, taking account of the EU low carbon agenda, the interim and final NESC Secretariat analysis, and such further evaluation of measures as the Departments concerned consider necessary. These sectoral roadmaps are, he said “an essential first step towards finalising a national 2050 roadmap to a low-carbon society with a competitive low-carbon economy in early 2014.”

On the promised climate Bill, the Minister said that “work on developing provisions of progressive primary legislation is at an advanced stage and outline Heads of a Bill will be issued – for consideration by both the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht, and stakeholders – early in 2013.” Minister Hogan emphasised “the Government’s commitment to primary legislation and to keeping the January 2012 Programme for the development of national climate policy and legislation broadly on schedule. This is a critically important piece of national legislation in terms of the environmental and economic sustainability of our long-term future”, the Minister said, “and I’m sure all stakeholders will appreciate the importance of ensuring that we get the proposed provisions right. We need an informed and balanced debate on our future in the low-carbon world of tomorrow, and I look forward to the constructive input of all stakeholders to the debate on national policy and legislation which will be facilitated by the Oireachtas Committee in response to the outline Heads of the Bill and other work under the policy development programme.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

Actions under the Framework include:

• The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government will lead and co-ordinate on international, EU and national climate adaptation policy, working as appropriate through the Cabinet Committee system. It will support and promote innovative policy-making on climate adaptation at all levels, and support strategic decision-making on how best to address the impacts of climate change.
• Draft sectoral plans, based on sectoral risk assessments and following consultation with relevant stakeholders, to be published, by mid-2014 and adopted as quickly as possible thereafter. Sectoral adaptation plans should be revised and updated at least every 5 years.
• As local authorities review their city and county development plans, they should integrate climate change adaptation (as well as mitigation) considerations into their statutory plans. Local authorities should aim to have the review process of their development plans underway by mid- 2014 (if necessary, through amendment and variation procedures) to include climate change adaptation if this is not already adequately addressed.
• Government Departments and bodies will adopt an open, transparent, and inclusive approach to sectoral adaptation planning, with interested organisations and stakeholders being given early and adequate opportunity to input to the process of preparing adaptation plans.
• The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government will continue to support the EPA in continuing to play a lead role in building the evidence base and tools to help organisations adapt to climate change. Future work under the EPA’s Climate Change Research Programme will take account of the need for adaptation indicators to assist in monitoring and reviewing of plans as well as allowing for comparison across plans.
• The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government will continue to support Met Éireann in its development of climate prediction systems and provision of climate services for Ireland.