Dr. James Glynn:

It is not my area of expertise. Recommendation No. 17 of my submission notes that the rate at which we can decarbonise and invest in different technologies will depend on public buy-in and acceptance. In light of the radical infrastructural change required in the energy system, failure to engage early, which has been known to happen in large-scale energy projects, will not end well where the acceleration of our decarbonisation rates is concerned.

I have done a lot of work on carbon tax analysis. Recommendation No. 19 in my submission refers to our international responsibilities, with particular regard to Irish Aid. There is a common misunderstanding that carbon taxes are regressive by their very nature. Our analysis shows that there are many ways in which they can be progressive, providing a net benefit to working class households and lower income deciles. This requires well designed redistribution. I do not agree with the contention that carbon taxes are necessarily regressive or difficult.

Recommendation No. 19 stems directly from parts of the text of the Paris Agreement concerning capabilities and responsibilities. It also reflects a joint publication with international colleagues on the capital transfer required for developing nations to meet their decarbonisation goals. The global carbon budget required to keep warming below 2°C amounts to about 3.2 trillion tonnes. Ireland has already spent its fair share of that budget on a per capita basis. This point is relevant to future Irish carbon budgets. We may mitigate our emissions as quickly as possible on a territorial basis, but developing countries will need capital transfers and financial aid to leapfrog the fossil fuel benefits that have assisted with our industrial development. This will be necessary to meet the Paris Agreement's global goals. It might be also more economically efficient. With regard to Ireland's responsibility to developing nations and its capabilities, I note that Irish Aid already has a strong international footprint. Some of the State funds that go to Irish Aid could be considered relevant insofar as the aid is spent on offsetting emissions globally. Taking into account that offsetting effect in Irish carbon budgets could be defined as leakage. Leakage can thus have both positive and negative impacts on the Irish carbon budget.