merrion street

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government today (29 February 2012) initiated a public consultation on national climate policy and legislation. Speaking at the IIEA, the Minister said "I hope this open consultation will stimulate serious and constructive engagement across all sectors and stakeholders. It is a structured consultation designed to maximise the input from all parties and to ensure that we have a robust and meaningful outcome to inform the ongoing policy development process in line with the Roadmap I published in January".

The public consultation, which will run until 30 April, is the latest in a series of measures being taken by Minister Hogan as part of an ongoing process to develop a robust national climate policy which will be underpinned by legislation as set out in the Programme for Government. Flowing from the Review of National Climate Policy published by the Minister in November 2011, the pr.ocess has to date seen the commissioning of independent policy analysis by the Secretariat to the National Economic and Social Council, and a broad engagement with Ministerial colleagues to examine and progress sectoral mitigation measures

The public consultation aims to gather the views of the widest possible audience on a range of issues including general policy instruments and their use; identifying and addressing barriers to mitigation; specific mitigation policies and measures; consumer behaviour and EU policy. The consultation also includes a number of questions on domestic legislation, including in relation to its role and scope; and on national adaptation planning.

Noting that the consultation format is different from that employed previously, Minister Hogan said "we are fortunate to have an active and well informed group of stakeholders in this country, and the consultation has been designed to encourage a rich round of engagement by all concerned".

"I hope that the outcome of the public consultation will provide a catalyst for a significant step forward, to a policy position that is both fit for the purpose of meeting our 2020 commitments, and initiating a national journey on effective transition over the longer-term" said the Minister.