Hogan wants EU land-use agreement

“The policy gap in relation to land use is a matter of increasing concern for Ireland and the EU”, warned Environment Minister Phil Hogan, when he recently expressed concern at the potential cost of a 40% EU-wide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, which is at the nucleus of EU proposals released in January.

After meeting European Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard, Mr Hogan said: “we cannot enter into legally-binding mitigation targets for the post-2020 period without resolving this long-outstanding issue.”

Mr Hogan indicated conditional Irish support for the proposals, but said clarification was required on key issues, such as the Commission’s analysis of the projected economic cost for Ireland, and how emissions related to agriculture and land use across the EU would be treated after 2020.