Mr. Oisín Coghlan:

It is positive and I accept that the 2020 target is essentially transposed into Irish law from EU law under this Bill. We have not said that Ireland should unilaterally adopt a 2030 target now because we know we are beginning EU-level negotiations on burden sharing. We have accepted the argument from other stakeholders that to do that now would be too much to ask of Ireland. That same logic does not apply to 2050.

I accept 2050 seems far away but as I can remember 40 years ago, 40 years is not that far away. It will come on to the horizon for more people. There is a value in putting a target into law at a symbolic level; we should indicate where we are going in order to provide a long-term certainty in a framework. Beyond what we can see to 2030 there must be a cornerstone that will show, if nothing else, that we are not just talking about this and the next Government. We are acknowledging that this is a challenge for all Governments across time as well as all Departments across Government for the next 40 years. There must be a national effort over that time.

We are not saying Ireland must go out on a limb in adopting stretched targets for the short term but there is a need to look to the horizon. Ms Christiana Figueres, the secretary general of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which holds the negotiations, has addressed a summit of legislators on climate change legislation in London this year. This relates to the idea of which comes first, the international agreements or national action. She argued that some wait for international legislation but unless national legislators take action and adopt legislation, we will not get an agreement in 2015, and one of the main enablers of an international agreement will be more nations taking national responsibility for this in the broadest sense. Actions or targets must be put into legislation, and she spoke broadly about renewable energy and not simply carbon emission targets.

The more countries that do that, the more likely we are to get agreement on an international agreement in 2015 for 2020 and beyond. We are trying to set up a virtuous circle. If Ireland wants to say there are different things in the international system that need to change, we need to come forward with the proposals and build the system we want to see.