After half a decade of lobbying Tynwald and the Isle of Man Government, the Isle of Man Green Party welcomes the extension to the Isle of Man of the Paris Agreement, the international treaty on climate change, agreed in 2015 and signed on 22 April 2016. The Isle of Man Green Party has been publicly calling for the extension of the Paris Agreement to the Isle of Man since 2018.
Extension
The extension of the Paris Agreement to the Isle of Man took place on Wednesday 22 March 2023, when the UK Government, the representative of the Isle of Man in the international domain, notified the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, that its own ratification would extend to include the Isle of Man. The extension notice stated that the UK Government considered that “the extension of the [Paris Agreement] to the Crown Dependency of the Isle of Man to take effect on the date of deposit of this notification.”
The extension of the Paris Agreement comes after formal discussions between the Isle of Man Government and the UK Government commenced in January 2021, following consistent lobbying from the Isle of Man Green Party since 2018.
Impact
The Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Isle of Man has already experienced the impacts of climate change, with 2022 being the warmest year on record, bringing increased risks of rising sea levels, coastal erosion, flooding, frequent extreme weather events and droughts.
Andrew Langan-Newton, the leader of the Isle of Man Green Party, said: -
"We are delighted that the Isle of Man Green Party’s calls have finally been listened to with the extension of the Paris Agreement to the Isle of Man. This is a significant step forward in the fight against climate change, and it shows to a global audience that the Isle of Man is finally taking its responsibilities seriously. The Paris Agreement provides a framework for action and cooperation to address the global climate crisis, and the Isle of Man can now be part of this collective effort."
The Isle of Man Green Party now calls on the Isle of Man Government to set ambitious plans for how businesses, community, and local authorities in the Isle of Man will be able to access renewable energy before 2030, including rights to access the grid and duties upon Manx Utilities to prioritise the adoption of renewable energy. Although the recent news of 30MW of renewables by 2026 is welcomed, it does not go far enough and there remains uncertainty about private developer plans given the news that the Billown solar farm planning application will go to the Council of Ministers for its decision (a rarely used process reserved for applications of national importance).
The Isle of Man Green Party is a registered political party building a sustainable vision for the future of the Isle of Man. Further information can be found on the Party’s website www.greenparty.im and via email at committee@greenparty.im.