The Environment Minister has said the public must realize that changes will have to be made to their lives in order for Ireland to tackle climate change.
The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, Richard Bruton, held a consultation on Friday on the development of an all of government plan to make Ireland “a leader” in responding to the environmental threat.
Representatives from industry, agriculture, NGOs, government departments, academia, as well as unions and employer bodies gathered in Croke Park to consider how best to address a number of matters across a range of sectors and the policy tools available.
“We need to step up our response to climate disruption.
“The window for opportunity is closing. The decisions we take now will define the next century,” Minister Bruton said.
“The future for Ireland is seizing opportunities in a de-carbonized world.
“I have to say honestly this will only happen if every home, every enterprise, every farm, every community recognizes there is a change in their lifestyle that has to be the driver for a real practical outcome on this.
“This is a fundamental structure change, and if we want to be prosperous in 20 years time, we have to do this, but we can’t all be funded by government, every sector has to take responsibility.
“In new buildings there will be new energy requirements, regulatory changes and standards.
“In every sector, the building energy rating is going to be more central to transactions, so there will be new standards and time to achieve those.
“We’re going to see a number of nudges coming along and grants and tax can be a source of those nudges and shift how people think about these issues.
“There’s no doubt we’re 90% off the target we’ve set ourselves for 2020, and it’s self-evident we haven’t taken this issue as seriously as we should have.
“It hasn’t been integrated into policy, and that’s not pointing a finger at somebody, it’s a statement of truth.
“What’s very clear is people want a long-term framework and every sector is engaged.”