Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for appearing today. It is important to state that there is a big difference between when a Bill comes into a committee and when it goes out. I thank the witnesses for their expertise. We are not going to be in government forever, so we want to achieve the most robust Bill that we can because it will be future Governments that will be held to account by it.

On section 3(3), and the witnesses have mentioned this, as have previous witnesses, that language needs to be strengthened. We all recognise that point, and that has knock-on impacts for the rest of the Bill. Regarding the carbon budget and definitions sections, there are various ways to proceed with them. The phrase "one or more greenhouse gases" is contained in the Bill. I ask the witnesses to comment on how to strengthen that carbon budget section. I also ask Professor Sweeney to mention black carbon and whether he believes that could be brought into the Bill. Reference is made to a nitrogen balance sheet in the Scottish legislation, for instance, and I wonder if we could look at something like that.

Turning to climate justice, it is not very clear what that is in the section on definitions. The Scottish legislation refers to the concept, and uses the phrase "support the people who are most affected by climate change but who have done the least to cause it and are the least equipped to adapt to its effects". That is not the Mary Robinson phrase. Do the witnesses think that phrase is adequate and takes into consideration the intergenerational impacts of climate justice? I could say much more, including that there is no reference to a just transition in the Bill and that we need such an inclusion. I ask the witnesses to comment on specific phraseology in that regard.