Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the title of the presentation indicates, it is important to constantly tie in climate action and the economy because that would bring people with us. The explosion of scientific evidence recently has scared the living daylights out of people so we need something that will encourage them. Positivity and the psychology of change are important and we need to keep speaking about the benefits. We are being scared witless and change can be very difficult. Air pollution is a problem in Europe. There have been 800,000 deaths as a result of it, as well as incidences of respiratory tract diseases, infections and conditions such as asthma. Pollution has an impact on public health. Can our guests comment on our approach to air quality? Is it included in our long-term strategy?

Migration to Europe will increase as a result of climate change. What are our policies in this area? Some areas are already pretty poor but we will be inundated with people fleeing famine and flood. It is projected that by 2050 or 2075, 70% of the world's population will live in urban areas, with a depopulated rural landscape. Has that come into the reckoning as regards the impact of climate change? What can we do to rebalance the situation?

Deputy Eamon Ryan referred to our housing stock and the paucity of retrofitting, which is much needed in our cold climate on the edge of Europe. Is it feasible to provide low-cost loans to enable people to retrofit? In the Government plan, there were only 1,000 loans and many more rejections. People on the threshold had no incentive to retrofit and they do not have the means as they are living in borderline poverty. Would the EU play a part? Our guests were presented with eight long-term strategic options, two of which seemed achievable for the 1.5°C scenario. Lifestyle changes are also a factor and it makes sense to invest to address that scenario. Will the Commission prioritise natural solutions to climate change over geo-engineering?

We are going to miss the 2020 emissions targets and we may well miss the 2030 targets, which means that we will face significant fines. Is there a real potential for these fines? Can our guests provide an assessment of the fines?