Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 32/2021
• Year: 2021

Number 32 of 2021
CLIMATE ACTION AND LOW CARBON DEVELOPMENT (AMENDMENT) ACT 2021
CONTENTS
PART 1
Preliminary and General
Section
1. Short title, commencement, construction and collective citation
2. Definitions
PART 2
Amendment of Principal Act
3. Amendment of section 1 of Principal Act
4. Limitation of liability
5. National climate objective
6. Climate action plan and national long term climate action strategy
7. Amendment of section 5 of Principal Act
8. Amendment of section 6 of Principal Act
9. Carbon budgets
10. Amendment of section 9 of Principal Act
11. Amendment of section 11 of Principal Act
12. Amendment of section 12 of Principal Act
13. Amendment of section 13 of Principal Act
14. Amendment of section 10 of Principal Act
15. Climate reporting
16. Role of local authority
17. Amendment of section 15 of Principal Act
18. Miscellaneous amendments of Principal Act
PART 3
Amendment of Other Acts
19. Amendment of section 10 of Planning and Development Act 2000
20. Amendment of section 37B of National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007
21. Repeal of certain provisions of Act of 1960 and transitional provisions
22. Amendment of Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act 1954
Acts Referred to
Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 (No. 46)
Companies Act 2014 (No. 38)
Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act 1954 (No. 17)
Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act 2013 (No. 33)
National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 (No. 7)
Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act 1960 (No. 7)
Planning and Development Act 2000 (No. 30)
Number 32 of 2021
CLIMATE ACTION AND LOW CARBON DEVELOPMENT (AMENDMENT) ACT 2021
An Act to provide for the approval of plans by the Government in relation to climate change for the purpose of pursuing the transition to a climate resilient, biodiversity rich and climate neutral economy by no later than the end of the year 2050 and to thereby promote climate justice, and just transition; to make certain changes to the Climate Change Advisory Council; to provide for carbon budgets and a sectoral emissions ceiling to apply to different sectors of the economy; to provide for reporting by Ministers of the Government to a joint committee of the Houses of the Oireachtas; to provide for local authority climate action plans; for those and other purposes to amend the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 ; to provide that local authorities shall, when making development plans, take account of their climate action plans and, for that purpose to amend the Planning and Development Act 2000 ; to extend the purposes for which moneys may be paid out of the Climate Action Fund and, for that purpose to amend the National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 ; to provide for the repeal of certain provisions of the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act 1960 ; to amend the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act 1954 to alter the borrowing powers of the Electricity Supply Board and its subsidiaries; and to provide for related matters.
[23rd July, 2021]
Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:
PART 1 Preliminary and General
		Short title, commencement, construction and collective citation
1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021.
	(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications may by order or orders appoint either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.
	(3) The Principal Act and this Act, other than sections 19 , 20 , 21 and 22 , shall be construed together as one Act and may be cited together as the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Acts 2015 to 2021.
	(4) The Act of 1960 and section 21 shall be construed together as one Act and may be cited together as the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Acts 1960 to 2021.
		Definitions
2. In this Act—
	“Act of 1960” means the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act 1960 ;
	“Principal Act” means the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 .
PART 2 Amendment of Principal Act
		Amendment of section 1 of Principal Act
3. Section 1 of the Principal Act is amended—
	(a) by the insertion of the following definitions:
	“‘administrative area’ has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 2001;
	‘annual report’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 12(1)(b);
	‘approved climate action plan’ means a climate action plan approved by the Government under section 4(9);
	‘approved national long term climate action strategy’ means a national long term climate action strategy approved by the Government under section 4(9);
	‘biodiversity’ means the variability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part, and includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems;
	‘budget period’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 6A(1);
	‘carbon budget’ means the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that are permitted during the budget period;
	‘carbon budget programme’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 6A(2);
	‘climate action plan’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 4(1)(a);
	‘climate neutral economy’ means a sustainable economy and society where greenhouse gas emissions are balanced or exceeded by the removal of greenhouse gases;
	‘joint committee’ has the meaning assigned to it by the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act 2013 ;
	‘national climate objective’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 3(1);
	‘national long term climate action strategy’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 4(1)(b);
	‘provisional carbon budget’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 6A(3);
	‘sectoral emissions ceiling’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 6C(1);”,
	(b) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “emissions”:
	“‘emissions’ means, in relation to greenhouse gases, emissions of those gases into the earth’s atmosphere attributable to industrial, agricultural, energy or other anthropogenic activities in the State;”,
	(c) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “removal”:
	“‘removal’ means, in relation to greenhouse gases, the removal of those gases from the earth’s atmosphere through the use of natural or technological solutions, including the creation or enhancement of sinks, or a change of land use, in the State;”,
	and
	(d) by the deletion of the following definitions:
	(i) “approved national mitigation plan”;
	(ii) “national mitigation plan”;
	(iii) “national transition objective”;
	(iv) “sectoral mitigation measures”.
		Limitation of liability
4. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 2:
	“Limitation of liability
	2A. For the avoidance of doubt no remedy or relief by way of damages or compensation is available with respect to or arising out of any failure, of whatever kind, to comply with any provision of this Act or any obligation or duty created thereunder.”.
		National climate objective
5. The Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 3:
	“National climate objective
	3. (1) The State shall, so as to reduce the extent of further global warming, pursue and achieve, by no later than the end of the year 2050, the transition to a climate resilient, biodiversity rich, environmentally sustainable and climate neutral economy (in this Act referred to as the ‘national climate objective’).
	(2) For the purpose of enabling the State to pursue and achieve the national climate objective, the Minister shall make and submit to the Government for approval—
	(a) carbon budgets in accordance with sections 6B and 6D,
	(b) a sectoral emissions ceiling in accordance with section 6C,
	(c) a climate action plan in accordance with section 4,
	(d) a national long term climate action strategy in accordance with section 4, and
	(e) a national adaptation framework in accordance with section 5.
	(3) The Minister and the Government shall carry out their respective functions under sections 4, 5, 6, 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D in a manner—
	(a) that is consistent with the ultimate objective specified in Article 2 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change done at New York on 9 May 1992, and:
	(i) any mitigation or adaptation commitments entered into by the European Union in response or otherwise in relation to that objective;
	(ii) the steps specified in Articles 2 and 4(1) of the Agreement done at Paris on 12 December 2015 to achieve that objective,
	and
	(b) which takes account of the most recent national greenhouse gas emissions inventory and projection of future greenhouse gas emissions, prepared by the Agency.
	(4) The Minister shall consult with the Advisory Council for the purpose of the performance, by him or her, of his or her functions under sections 4, 5 and 6.
	(5) The Government may consult with the Advisory Council for the purpose of the performance by them of their functions under sections 4 to 6D.”.
		Climate action plan and national long term climate action strategy
6. The Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 4:
	“Climate action plan and national long term climate action strategy
	4. (1) The Minister shall, to enable the State to pursue and achieve the national climate objective—
	(a) prepare an annual update to the Climate Action Plan 2019 to Tackle Climate Breakdown, published by the Minister on 17...