Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015

Legislative, Mitigation and adaptation Framework 2015

The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act provides for the approval of plans by the Government in relation to climate change for the purpose of pursuing the transition to a low carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable economy; to establish a body to be known as the National Expert Advisory Council on Climate Change; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

The Act is Ireland’s first framework piece of climate change legislation and lays the ground for transition towards a low carbon economy, to be achieved through a combination of the following:

• a national greenhouse gas mitigation plan
• a national adaptation framework
• specific sectoral adaptation plans

The main provisions of the Act include:

• The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government is responsible for producing and submitting for government approval both the national mitigation plan and the national adaptation framework, to be reviewed every 5 years;  the first mitigation plan must be submitted not later than 10 June 2017, and the first adaptation  framework must be submitted not later than 10 December 2017 (Articles 3 – 5).
• Appropriate ministries will be requested to formulate and submit sectoral adaptation plans.
• When formulating the national adaptation framework and sectoral plans, the government is required to take account of a number of factors, including: promoting sustainable development; achieving the objectives of a national adaptation framework at the least cost to the national economy; any recommendations or advice of the Expert Advisory Council.
• The establishment of an independent Climate Change Advisory Council on climate change. The heads of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Teagasc and the Economic and Social Research Institute are to be ex officio members of the Advisory Council. The Council is tasked with conducting an annual review of the progress made in achieving planned GHG emissions reductions, and  furthering transition to a “low carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable economy” (Article 8).
• The Minister of the Environment must produce annual statements on national transition, sectoral mitigation transition, and sectoral adaptation transition (Article 14).

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