A new Labour Party bill aims to put Ireland ‘ahead of the curve’ on carbon labelling.
The legislation would oblige the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) to bring forward a framework for carbon labelling on all products sold in Ireland.
On Lunchtime Live this afternoon, Labour climate spokesperson Ivana Bacik said the plan would ensure consumers can clearly see the carbon emissions generated by every product they purchase.
She said the legislation would oblige the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) to define a standard approach to carbon labelling in Ireland.
“It is very like the nutrition and calorie count requirements that are already placed on manufacturers and I suppose it is something that is coming down the line anyway,” she said.
“Our bill is a little bit ahead of the curve because as yet, there is no requirement at EU level for carbon footprint labelling but the EU Commission has been discussing this and we are conscious that there are already quite a number of different international standard-setting bodies that are looking at this.”
Carbon label
She said the labels would set out the emissions generated during every step of the products life – including manufacture, transport and ultimately, disposal.
She said Labour is asking the Government to support the bill or work with the party to bring forward a revised version of the legislation.
“It is something consumers increasingly want,” she said. “People want to do the right thing to help us meet our climate emissions targets but what we need to do is ensure people have the supports to do so.
“Currently, if I am looking at two packages of apples, one from Ireland and one from France, I am obviously assuming that the Irish-produced one has a lower carbon footprint but currently there is no mechanism for requiring the retailer to provide that carbon footprint label.
“We know this is something the EU will require but we think we should be little ahead of the curve here and put it in place now.”
Business
Deputy Bacik said several large multi-national are already bringing forward carbon labelling plans and the bill aims to ensure that standards are set by the State rather than business.
She said there will likely be exemptions for small businesses.
“If you go to a local market where goods are produced - where fruit is grown locally or meat is produced locally - that is going to be much lower in carbon footprint in any case so I think we can foresee there might well be some exemptions for smaller retailers and smaller markets,” she said.
