Understanding the targets in the climate Bill, compared to Ireland's EU obligations

An analysis of the confusion and controversy surrounding the emissions targets in the Government’s Climate Change Response Bill 2010

Since the Climate Change Response Bill was published both the IFA and IBEC have made vehement claims that the target in the Bill for 2020 are much stringent than Ireland's existing obligations under EU agreements.

This analysis by Friends of the Earth Director, Oisin Coghlan, explains why confusion has arisen over how the 2020 target compares to our EU obligation and examines in detail the claim and counter claim made by the Department of the Environment and IBEC/IFA.

The confusion arises because of the fact the two targets have different baselines, different scopes and treat carbon sinks differently.

When you factor those variables in consistently you find the target in the climate Bill is equivalent to our current EU obligations.

It is also worth noting that the targets in the Government Bill are less demanding than the targets in the Oireachtas Climate Change Committee Bill which has all-party support.