By Rosalind Skillen
The Government scraped an overall B- in the 2024 Government report card published today by Friends of the Earth.
For the last four years, environmental NGO Friends of the Earth has commissioned an annual independent expert assessment of the Government’s delivery of the Programme for Government commitments on climate and the environment.
The 2020 Programme for Government contains nearly 300 environmental or climate related commitments. The assessment gives the Government marks out of 10 in each of the following nine areas: Climate, Nature and Biodiversity, Water and Marine, Waste and Circular Economy, Air Quality, Transport, Buildings, Energy, and Agriculture & Forestry.
In the final year of this Government’s term, the report gives the current incumbents a B- overall in achieving their own promises to address climate change and protect our environment, up from a C+ last year. The Government’s progress was attributed to landmark achievements, including Ireland’s outsized role in passing of the EU Nature Restoration Law and enacting legislation for a Climate and Nature Fund, both of which will last well beyond the lifetime of this Government.
Friends of the Earth commissioned three academic experts (Dr. Cara Augustenborg at University College Dublin, Dr. Diarmuid Torney at Dublin City University, Dr. Paul Deane at University College Cork) to independently assess the Irish Government’s performance on environment and climate.
More than 95 stakeholders across a wide range of civil society organisations, political parties, academic institutions, media organisations, and Government bodies were contacted to gather data on each of the Government’s environmental commitments.
While improvements have been made across some areas, Water and the Marine was the lowest scoring category at 5/10. The report puts poor progress down to “persistent, inexcusable delays in their commitment to develop legislation on Marine Protected Areas.”
For the last 4 years, the score for Water and Marine has steadily declined from 5.5 in 2021 to 5/10 in 2024.
Recommendations for next Programme for Government
To address Ireland’s marine biodiversity crisis, the next Government should immediately publish the Marine Protected Area legislation. Faster action is clearly needed, and national law to protect and conserve Irish waters is of upmost priority for any incoming Government.
Commenting on the report, Dr Cara Augustenborg Assistant Professor, Environmental Policy Programme, University College Dublin, said: “I hope this process shows the next Government that we are always watching, and civil society will continue to demand more ambition and faster implementation of environmental commitments in any future Programme for Government.”
This is the last report card that Friends of the Earth will commission before a change in Government and if you want to see proper action for Ireland’s seas in the next programme for Government, join us in Dublin for a ‘Rally for Ireland’s Seas’ on 25th September 2024.
We were promised Marine Protected Area legislation in the first Programme for Government in 2020 and it still hasn’t been published.
BirdWatch Ireland, as part of the Fair Seas coalition, are hosting a Rally for Ireland’s Seas outside Dail Eireann on 25th September at 12 noon to 2pm.
You can register here: Rally 4 Ireland’s Seas – Outside Dáil Éireann 25 September 2024 Tickets, Wed, Sep 25, 2024 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite
We would love to see you there.
.
