Climate change bill 'will damage business' unless revised

Employers' group IBEC today said that proposals contained in the newly published Climate Change Response Bill will be hugely damaging to Ireland's economic competitiveness unless they are revised.

The group said that, despite having had 12 months to draft the legislation, Government failed to consult with business and other stakeholders about the measures in the Bill, which shows little clarity on how Ireland's policy should dovetail with existing EU policy on climate change action.

"We have major concerns about the provisions of this Bill, which have the potential to inflict serious damage on our economy without actually achieving the intended reductions in greenhouse gas emissions," said Dr Neil Walker, IBEC’s head of energy and environment policy.

"In particular, the proposed greenhouse gas targets from 2020 onwards are so stringent that they imply a far higher compliance cost in Ireland than any other EU Member State. Ireland already has a carbon emission reduction obligation for 2020 that is double the EU average. However, this Bill would impose an additional spend of at least €400m per annum on abatement.”

In the longer term, the target for 2050 is greater than our total abatement potential, Dr Walker said.

"An emissions reduction of 80% across our economy would require us to make huge cuts in the size of our beef and dairy herds.

"Crucially, this would not actually deliver any global carbon savings as the demand would simply be met by farmers in other exporting countries. "

Dr Walker called for a more evidence-based approach to climate policy-making, and suggested that a full and meaningful public consultation on the proposals is now vital.

"Climate change is a long term global problem that will not be solved by Ireland going it alone," he said.

"Despite having had 12 months to prepare this legislation, the Minister has failed to adequately engage stakeholders and take proper account of relevant research and modelling that has been conducted by state agencies such as SEAI, the EPA and Teagasc."