Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professor FitzGerald. I wish to ask about the climate justice aspect of his presentation. I have two questions. I am very glad he raised the fact that the climate council will take into account climate justice. He reminds us how the council has been at pains to say how vital climate justice is in reassuring us on a just transition.

In raising this, Professor FitzGerald rightly points out the distributional issues. That is despite the council taking into account that it is the Oireachtas that will consider and resolve these. That could be open to interpretation. While all of us on the committee want to rise above politics, and there is a need for the Bill to rise above politics, there is a gap between the council's aspiration taking climate justice into account and the Oireachtas considering and resolving that. We do not want climate justice becoming a hostage to fortune. How do we close the gap and seal it?

On a just transition, does the Bill sufficiently demonstrate that we are mindful of our international responsibilities as we achieve our own targets. It is almost like a Weight Watchers approach where one might make cuts somewhere to do something somewhere else and that might be detrimental to poorer countries, such as cobalt mining?