Climate Minister must clarify comments on carbon emission fines - O’Gorman

Following the public dismissal by Climate Minister Darragh O’Brien as “back of envelope stuff” with regard to a joint publication of the potential costs of missed climate targets, Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman today called on the Minister to explain his position.

In their joint publication “A Colossal Missed Opportunity”, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) and the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) warned that Ireland may have to pay out €8 to €26 billion to its EU partners if it does not step up on climate action it has agreed to. 

“After he trashed the peer-reviewed work of IFAC and the CCAC as “back of envelope stuff” and said of fines that he “doesn’t see it happening”, we have to ask - does the Climate Minister really believe that missing our targets, which we are on course do to in all four key mitigating areas, won’t result in a major financial consequences for the State? Does the Minister know something that nobody else does, and can he share it?”, stated O’Gorman. 

“Even with the big strides made in recent years, Ireland still has the third highest per capita emissions in the EU; so as one of the Union’s biggest per capita emitters, what leverage does the Climate Minister think we have to make such bullish comments?”

“And perhaps of more concern - are his comments reflective of the general slow-down across Government on climate action that we’ve seen this year? The full raid of the Climate and Nature Fund, nothing for nature restoration in the budget, and slow-walking of this year’s Climate Action Plan; so far all we’ve seen is sign after sign that climate is now at the bottom of this Government’s agenda,” concluded O’Gorman.