Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said Ireland will be strengthening the contribution it makes to climate financing as part of an EU “global union” to reduce carbon emissions.
He was speaking as the Cop26 summit on climate change takes place in Glasgow.
Mr Donohoe told RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland he did not believe the expansion of the national dairy herd over the past decade had been a mistake and that Irish farming had shown its ability to meet the dairy needs of the world in a very carbon efficient way.
However, it was now time to acknowledge that everyone needed to do better. Irish agriculture had already made great strides in this regard, he said.
Asked why he will not be at the Cop26 summit, he said “because I have the Finance Bill for the Budget beginning this week and that Finance Bill includes measures to increase carbon taxation.
“I believe these are the kind of concrete practical contributions we can make here in Ireland to how we do better from a carbon point of view. The Government will be represented by a range of other members of Government during that time.
“The breadth of Government members that are attending speaks to the importance that we place on what is happening in Glasgow.
“I need to bring in our budgetary legislation this week into the Dáil and given the fact that carbon taxation is a very important element of that I think my time is best spent doing that.”
Mr Donohoe said claims by Sinn Féin that the Government would be “taking a big stick” to Irish farmers in the forthcoming Climate Action Plan were incorrect, and that “this type of language” undermined the ability to make a case for a positive transition into a lower carbon future.
Meanwhile, Minister for the Environment and Climate Eamon Ryan has said that the Climate Action Plan will be brought to Cabinet this week and, once approved, will then be presented to the Opposition, the Oireachtas and the public.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, Mr Ryan said that the Climate Action Plan had evolved from an original proposal by then minister Richard Bruton in 2019 which had been built on cross-party agreement and following on from the Citizens’ Assembly.
“Our process has been politically inclusive,” Mr Ryan said.
Better systems will have to be created across many sectors, he said. The national herd would reduce naturally over time, he added. The key metric would be to protect the family farm model.
Mr Ryan said the Climate Action Plan will include a deposit plan for plastic bottles, electric transport, a move into green careers to encourage 25,000 apprenticeships to carry out an extensive retrofitting plan.
Ireland would be producing its own electricity and would not need to import oil and gas, said Mr Ryan.