Thread by @autofac

Oisín list of things to look out for is a good one...

https://twitter.com/OisinCoghlan/status/1373927238924664833

Albeit I have some slightly different perspectives...

I think "net zero" framing (and therefore even "achieve net zero by 2050 at the latest") is flawed and misleading. Commitment should be a fair share contribution to the Paris temperature goals (Article 2.1 is much more important than 4.1!).

It follows that we need to adopt a national "forever" cumulative GHG budget as a constraint on all mitigation policy. Number need not be in statute - but needs to be explicit (with advice from CCAC and lots of public participation!).

More detail in my JOCCA submission here (albeit essentially none of the substance was taken on board by JOCCA): docs.google.com/a/dcu.ie/viewe…

Separately, Oisín falls for the government bait-and-switch that equates "7% per year to 2030" with "51% reduction by 2030", and now only ever mentions the latter. But the two are not generally equivalent (in warming terms). Just not.
docs.google.com/a/dcu.ie/viewe…

Oisín mentions quote attributed to @RichardbrutonTD that the PfG commitment "was about a best endeavours approach." That has been @FineGael's consistent framing. But in a crisis, the correct question is not "are we doing our best?", but "are we doing what's NECESSARY?"

I still hope and expect the new Bill will be an improvement on the status quo. And again, if Oisín's checklist is all ticked that will be better still. But we must not fool ourselves that it is anywhere near enough. It isn't.