As Climate Bill debate continues in the Dáil campaigners say it is now time to pass it into law

Stop Climate Chaos today welcomed the fact that the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill is back in the Dáil for Report Stage and says it is now time to pass the Bill into law. Acknowledging the progress made to date, in part from pressure applied by campaigners but also thanks to the interest from TDs on all sides, the coalition says that the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill must now be urgently passed into law. The Report Stage debate resumes two months ahead of major UN climate talks in Paris. The coalition adds however that passing the Climate Bill does not, in and of itself, constitute action.

Commenting, Ciara Kirrane, Coordinator of Stop Climate Chaos, said:

"While progress on the Climate Bill is to be welcomed, the real test is whether the government can translate this into action. Ireland has not had a national action plan on climate change since 2012, when the last plan expired, and there is currently no prospect of a new plan being in place until 2017. This means the government will have had no action plan on climate change for their entire term in office.

The lack of progress on implementing climate mitigation measures has been echoed by the European Commission in a recent report which saw Ireland criticised for having ‘insufficient’ climate related policies.

Ms Kirrane continued:

“With only two months to go until major climate negotiations begin, the government must signal their intention to tackle climate change by setting out their vision and plan for decarbonising our society in the forthcoming Energy White Paper. The government must also live up to commitments made on providing climate finance to the Green Climate Fund. Ireland is one of only a handful of countries that has yet to pledge its contribution to this fund, which was a source of considerable embarrassment at last year’s UN climate negotiations. Finally they must ensure adequate time is dedicated in the Dáil to passing the Climate Bill.”

Following calls from campaigning organisations that the Climate Bill was too weak to work, a number of amendments were accepted at Committee Stage in June. These changes included a reference to climate justice, a guarantee ensuring the independence of the Advisory Council and clarity on the low carbon objective.