Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for joining us today. I have a technical question, however before I ask it. I wish to ask Mr. Carroll what his view is on the comment that this Bill represents a weakening in comparison with the 2015 legisation. Purely factually, looking at the terminology in 2015 in comparison with this Bill, we are talking about net-zero emissions, and there is no numerical figure in the 2015 legislation. I do not believe I have heard any of the advocacy groups say that there is a weakening in comparison to 2015; the reverse is the case, if anything. However, there is a point on which I would like clarity, and that is the direct comparison between the Scottish legislation and the legislation we have before us here. If we look at section A1 in the Scottish legislation, it states: "Scottish Ministers must ensure that the net Scottish emissions account for the net-zero emissions target year is at least 100% lower than the baseline". This is in comparison with the legislation before us, which as Mr. Carroll is aware, states: "The State shall pursue the transition to a climate resilient and climate neutral economy". I am wondering, from a technical perspective, rather than the ins and outs of which is correct, what would it take for us, not just to amend that particular section, but what else in the Bill would need to change in order to give effect to the strengthening of that language?