Spot the difference. Parliamentary Questions.

Phil Hogan answered a written PQ about climate legislation from Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin this week. What's concerning about it is how different his answer is from the one he gave in May to an almost identical question. It's striking that his answer can change so radically in the absence of any decision to change government policy and during a policy review that begun in May and which was still being finalised when he gave the second answer.

--

May 17th Written Question

Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
Question 56: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the date on which he will publish climate change legislation. [11508/11]

Phil Hogan (Minister, Department of Environment, Community and Local Government; Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to publish climate legislation to give certainty and clarity in relation to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to be achieved in line with EU targets. In progressing this commitment, I intend to follow a transparent process which will provide an avenue for engagement by all the relevant stakeholders.

My priority in the climate area is, in the first instance, to undertake a review of Ireland’s climate-related policies and measures in light of existing and anticipated national greenhouse gas mitigation targets. This process, which I have requested my Department to complete by end-June, will underpin the development of future climate policy. My Department will then build on that process by, inter alia, exploring more fully the form and content of legislation that it would be appropriate to put in place to support the overall national effort in the climate area. In that context, I will be taking account of the work undertaken by the previous Government, which culminated in the publication of the Climate Change Response Bill 2010, although I do not agree with the contents of the Bill. Given the support of Parties on all sides of the House for climate legislation, it would be useful if we were to be able to move forward on an all-Party basis. Accordingly, once the new Committee arrangements are in place, I will be writing to the Chair of the relevant Committee in this regard.

At this point, taking account of the importance of advancing this issue in an inclusive way, providing a more robust basis for galvanising a broad measure of support, I expect to be in a position to publish a consultation paper on climate legislation early next year, with the heads of a climate Bill following during the year, and a final Bill being published as quickly as possible thereafter.

 

Question No. 352

Chun an Aire Comhshaoil, Pobail agus Rialtais Áitiúil:
To the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government:
To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when he intends to publish a Climate Change Bill; and his strategy to meet EU 2020 targets.
- Aodhán Ó Ríordáin.
For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 18th October, 2011.

Ref No: 29952/11

REPLY

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (Mr. P. Hogan)

My immediate priority on climate change is to finalise a review of national policy in light of existing and anticipated national greenhouse gas mitigation targets up to the period 2020. The review, which is almost finalised and will be made available as soon as possible on my Department's website, will provide the background for future policy development. I am satisfied that Ireland can and will meet its 2020 greenhouse gas emission reduction obligations under EU law. This will be achieved through progress on the domestic climate agenda, complemented as necessary by use of flexibilities provided in Decision 406/2009/EC of 23 April 2009.

--

 

This is a rather worrying and public example of what appears to be Hogan's changed agenda on climate policy. And that agenda seems to be to ignore all the lessons of our mishandling of our Kyoto commitment, ignore any lessons from the property bubble/financial crash about business-as-usual, risk, and light-touch regulation, and re-adopt the FF/PD climate policy of 1997-2007 which is we'll do whatever isn't too much trouble at home and we can always buy offset credits if that turns out not to be enough.