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The Green Party’s Private Members Bill, the Climate Change Targets Bill, aims to safeguard the fulfilment of Ireland’s climate change targets and obligations. Recognising that real and lasting reductions in Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions requires long-term forward planning, the Climate Change Targets Bill provides for a partnership cross-Party approach on long term energy targets, similar to legislation already in place in Denmark.
The Bill calls on the Government to establish the necessary annual pro-rata reductions required to reach the targeted 60-80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on a gradual incremental basis by the year 2050. This Bill coincides with the renegotiations of the Kyoto Protocol taking place in Montreal from 28 November to 9 December 2005.
Green Party Energy and Transport spokesperson Eamon Ryan TD said that, “Climate change is the biggest challenge facing our society. The only way to achieve the dramatic Greenhouse Gas reductions necessary to avoid the catastrophic repercussions of climate change is to implement orderly, long-term and equitable solutions.”
“Because all successive future governments will have to address this problem, it is essential that we have all-Party consensus on the future of Irish energy policy. This is precisely what this Bill does. This is not an exercise in political point-scoring but rather a genuine endeavour to raise the political horizon above the short-term electoral cycle.”
Green Party Environment spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD said that, “We’re presenting the Bill as the United Nations negotiations on Climate Change move into a crucial phase. Today the eleventh meeting of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 11) kicks off in Montreal running from November 28th to December 9th. This is the most important environmental conference since the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Japan in 1997. It marks the start of the renegotiations of the Kyoto Protocol and will help establish the ground rules for cutting greenhouse gas emissions after 2012.
“Other countries like Denmark have adopted a cross-party approach to tackling Climate Change. We believe that is vital if Ireland is to play its role in reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions. This Bill is an important first step in addressing a global challenge that affects us all. We are urging all Parties to work together to ensure that Ireland plays its part.”
Green Party Chairman and Dublin South East TD John Gormley said that, “CO2 is an odourless and invisible gas and too often global warming remains an abstract idea. The challenge we Greens often face is making climate change a tangible concept. The reality of what global warming can do was brought home to my constituents in 2001 during the terrible floods in Ringsend and Sandymount.”
“According to Dr John Sweeney, much of Dublin remains vulnerable to flooding. Yet, while this government talks about flood protection measures, it has delivered very little. The promised investment has failed to materialize and my constituents would be flooded once more if there was another storm surge.”
The Bill will be debated in the Dáil this Tuesday 29th November and Wednesday 30th November 2005 and will be voted on at 8.30pm on the 30th November 2005.
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