Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015
|
National low carbon transition and mitigation plan | ||
|
4. (1) The Minister shall— | ||
(a) not later than 18 months after the passing of this Act, and | ||
(b) not less than once in every period of 5 years, | ||
make, and submit to the Government for approval, a plan, which shall be known as a national low carbon transition and mitigation plan (in this Act referred to as a “national mitigation plan”). | ||
(2) A national mitigation plan shall— | ||
(a) specify the manner in which it is proposed to achieve the national transition objective, | ||
(b) specify the policy measures that, in the opinion of the Government, would be required in order to manage greenhouse gas emissions and the removal of greenhouse gas at a level that is appropriate for furthering the achievement of the national transition objective, | ||
(c) take into account any existing obligation of the State under the law of the European Union or any international agreement referred to in section 2, and | ||
(d) specify the mitigation policy measures (in this Act referred to as the “sectoral mitigation measures”) to be adopted by the Ministers of the Government, referred to in subsection (3)(a), in relation to the matters for which each such Minister of the Government has responsibility for the purposes of— | ||
(i) reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and | ||
(ii) enabling the achievement of the national transition objective. | ||
(3) For the purpose of including, in the national mitigation plan, the sectoral mitigation measures to be specified for the different sectors in accordance with subsection (2)(d)— | ||
(a) the Government shall request such Ministers of the Government they consider appropriate to submit to the Minister, within a specified period, the sectoral mitigation measures that each such Minister of the Government proposes to adopt in relation to the matters for which each such Minister of the Government has responsibility, | ||
(b) a Minister of the Government to whom a request under paragraph (a) is made shall submit the sectoral mitigation measures to be adopted by him or her to the Minister within the period specified by the Government and where such request is made to the Minister, the Minister shall prepare the sectoral mitigation measures to be adopted by him or her within the period specified by the Government, | ||
(c) the Minister shall, on receipt of the sectoral mitigation measures submitted to him or her in accordance with paragraph (b), include the sectoral mitigation measures submitted by each Minister of the Government in the national mitigation plan, and in the case of the sectoral mitigation measures prepared by the Minister, the Minister shall include those measures in the national mitigation plan, | ||
(d) a Minister of the Government referred to in paragraph (b) shall, in relation to the sectoral mitigation measures to be adopted by him or her and before submitting the sectoral mitigation measures to the Minister— | ||
(i) consult with the Minister and any other Minister of the Government as the Minister may specify and where a request referred to in paragraph (b) is made to the Minister, the Minister shall consult with such other Ministers of the Government as he or she considers appropriate, | ||
(ii) take account of the matters referred to in— | ||
(I) paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (2), and | ||
(II) paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (h) and (i), of subsection (7), | ||
and | ||
(iii) consult with the Advisory Council, | ||
and | ||
(e) the Government shall, when specifying the period referred to in paragraph (a), have regard to the period specified in subsection (1) . | ||
(4) The Government may— | ||
(a) approve, or | ||
(b) approve, subject to such modifications as they consider appropriate, | ||
a national mitigation plan submitted to them under this section. | ||
(5) The Minister may, after the submission to the Government of a periodic review report in accordance with section 13 and having had regard to that report, make and submit to the Government for approval a plan (in this Act also referred to as a “national mitigation plan”) varying, revising or replacing an approved national mitigation plan. | ||
(6) The Government may vary or revise a national mitigation plan approved by them under this section. | ||
(7) The Minister and the Government shall take account of the following matters when performing functions under this section: | ||
(a) the need to have regard to— | ||
(i) any existing obligation of the State under the law of the European Union or any international agreement referred to in section 2 , | ||
(ii) likely future mitigation commitments of the State and the economic imperative for early and cost-effective action, and | ||
(iii) the requirement to be able to act quickly in response to economic and environmental occurrences and circumstances; | ||
(b) the need to promote sustainable development; | ||
(c) the need to take advantage of environmentally sustainable economic opportunities both within and outside the State; | ||
(d) the need to achieve the objectives of a national mitigation plan at the least cost to the national economy and adopt measures that are cost-effective and do not impose an unreasonable burden on the Exchequer; | ||
(e) relevant scientific or technical advice; | ||
(f) the findings of any research on the effectiveness of mitigation measures and adaptation measures; | ||
(g) the sectoral mitigation measures included in the national mitigation plan pursuant to subsection (2)(d) that are to be adopted by each Minister of the Government in relation to the matters for which each such Minister of the Government has responsibility; | ||
(h) where a national mitigation plan has been approved by the Government, the most recent approved national mitigation plan; | ||
(i) any recommendations or advice of the Advisory Council; | ||
(j) mitigation measures, specified in a notification to the Minister or the Government under subsection (13); and | ||
(k) the protection of public health. | ||
(8) The Minister shall, before making a national mitigation plan— | ||
(a) publish, in such manner as he or she considers appropriate, a draft of the national mitigation plan that he or she proposes to make, | ||
(b) publish a notice on the internet and in more than one newspaper circulating in the State inviting members of the public and any interested parties to make submissions in writing in relation to the proposed national mitigation plan within such period (not exceeding 2 months from the date of the publication of the notice) as may be specified in the notice, and | ||
(c) have regard to any submissions made pursuant to, and in accordance with, a notice under paragraph (b). | ||
(9) (a) The Government may consult with the Advisory Council for the purpose of the performance by them of their functions under this section. | ||
(b) The Minister shall consult with the Advisory Council for the purpose of the performance by him or her of his or her functions under this section. | ||
(10) A national mitigation plan shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is approved by the Government. | ||
(11) A national mitigation plan shall not be implemented unless it has been approved by the Government in accordance with this section. | ||
(12) A Minister of the Government shall, in the performance of his or her functions, have regard to a national mitigation plan approved by the Government under this section. | ||
(13) A local authority may notify the Minister or the Government in writing of— | ||
(a) its intention to adopt, or | ||
(b) its having adopted, | ||
such mitigation measures as are specified in the notification concerned in relation to that local authority’s administrative area. |