Posted 15 July 2015
UCD professor appointed to National Expert Advisory Council on Climate Change
A National Expert Advisory Council on Climate Change, which will advise Government Departments and agencies on the actions required to significantly decarbonise the Irish economy by 2050, has been announced by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Alan Kelly TD.
Professor J Peter Clinch, UCD Professor of Public Policy, University College Dublin, has been appointed as one of the eleven members of the Advisory Council, the first of its kind to be established under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill.
Professor John FitzGerald (recently retired from the ESRI) has been named as the Chair of the Advisory Council, and the four ex-officio members include: Laura Burke (Director General EPA), Professor Alan Barrett (Director Designate ESRI), Dr Brian Motherway (CEO SEAI) and Professor Gerry Boyle (Director of Teagasc).
“This group will play a hugely important role in re-shaping the Irish economy towards a low-carbon economy. I think it is clearly evident to all that the combined calibre of this group is of such a standard as to ensure that the Council will indeed be a very strong force in advising Government to tackle the formidable climate challenge that lies ahead,” said Minister Kelly.
“I was particularly mindful of the need to balance both economic and environmental perspectives. This balance will be critical within the context of how Ireland transitions itself to a low carbon, climate resilient, environmentally sustainable economy particularly as our finances continue to stabilise and recover”, he continued.
“In this regard I am also very pleased that John Fitzgerald has agreed to chair the council in guiding the important work to follow”.
The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill, which has just completed Committee Stage in the Dáil, commits to the appointment of this expert group as well as five-yearly national mitigation plans designed to develop the policies to bring about a low carbon economy. Ireland’s national policy position on climate change, which was published in April 2014, sets out a long term vision to achieving an aggregate reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of at least 80% (compared to 1990 levels) by 2050 across the electricity generation, built environment and transport sectors and an approach to carbon neutrality in the agriculture and land-use sector.
The other appointed members of the Advisory Council include: Professor Ottmar Edenhofer (Co-Chair of Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)); Professor Frank Convery (Chief Economist, Environmental Defence Fund, New York); Professor J Peter Clinch (UCD Professor of Public Policy, University College Dublin); Professor Anna Davies (Professor of Geography, Trinity College Dublin); Professor Alan Matthews (Professor Emeritus of European Agricultural Policy, Trinity College Dublin); and Mr Joseph Curtin (Senior Research Fellow, IIEA).
(Produced by UCD University Relations)
