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Short thread on “Attorney General’s advice” & 
Climate Bills
Last time @greenparty_ie was in Govt they had same AG as now. When the GP/FF Climate Bill 2010 emerged it stated expressly that targets & plans were non-justiciable (pic1). @linehan_conor’s comment (pic2) is apt. 1/6 https://twitter.com/dkennytcd/status/1319383087810228224
Climate BillsLast time @greenparty_ie was in Govt they had same AG as now. When the GP/FF Climate Bill 2010 emerged it stated expressly that targets & plans were non-justiciable (pic1). @linehan_conor’s comment (pic2) is apt. 1/6 https://twitter.com/dkennytcd/status/1319383087810228224
The Green Party offered a weak justification for this unusual attempt to oust the courts’ jurisdiction at the time (below). Advice from the AG was not cited then; rather, speculation was that the ouster provision was a political compromise. 2/6
The GP/FF Climate Bill 2010 fell with the fall of that govt. When the next govt’s (FG/Labour) proposal emerged - what became the Climate Act 2015 - there were no targets at all, and this seems to have been based on advice from the (different) AG, as Conor Linehan highlights. 3/6
Now the Climate Bill 2020 has emerged under GP/FF/FG with a 2050 target but again no interim targets.
When John Sweeney & I emphasised the lack of legal accountability in the Bill this week, Richard Bruton asked whether should adopt something like this from the NZ Act. 4/6
When John Sweeney & I emphasised the lack of legal accountability in the Bill this week, Richard Bruton asked whether
should adopt something like this from the NZ Act. 4/6
I do not think such a provision would work in the Irish context, not least because climate litigation may be based on infringement of constitutional and/or ECHR rights.
More generally though, why do successive govts seem so keen to minimise or avoid legal accountability? 5/6
More generally though, why do successive govts seem so keen to minimise or avoid legal accountability? 5/6
The Scottish Climate Act is a strong legal framework with a 2045 net zero goal enshrined in law, interim targets for 2020, 2030 & 2040, and binding legal duties.
Scotland reduced its emissions by 51% between 1990 and 2020. We increased ours by 10% over the same period. 6/6 End
Scotland reduced its emissions by 51% between 1990 and 2020. We increased ours by 10% over the same period. 6/6 End
