This week, the government approved the first set of climate regulations, along with appointing four new members to the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC).
The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 “widens the scope of activities for the council and provides for increased membership”.
The four appointees are: Dr. Cara Augustenborg; Dr. Morgan D. Bazilian; Sinead O’Brien; and Jillian Mahon.
Commenting on the appointments, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan said: “A critical part of our transition to a low carbon society is the provision of accurate and timely advice.
“The Climate Change Advisory Council needs to have a broad and diverse balance of skills and experience that will advise government on both carbon budgets and progress on implementation of the Climate Action Plan.”
The climate act 2015 established the CCAC on a statutory basis on January 18, 2016.
Climate regulations
In addition to the appointment of the members of the CCAC, the government has approved the first of the two sets of regulations provided for in the climate act.
This regulation references the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) guidelines and EU regulations that govern carbon accounting.
This regulation governs which greenhouse gasses are to be included in carbon budgets.