Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 20:

In page 6, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: “ ‘Just Transition’ means a transition to complete decarbonisation which:

(a) ensures that communities and individuals adversely affected by the move to complete decarbonisation are supported and provided with work and opportunities that retain their livelihoods and standards of living;

(b) supports environmentally and socially sustainable jobs;

(c) supports low-carbon investment and infrastructure;

(d) develops and maintains social consensus through engagement with workers, trade unions, communities, non-governmental organisations, and others;

(e) creates decent, fair and high-value work in a way which does not negatively affect the current workforce and overall economy; and

(f) contributes to resource efficient and sustainable economic approaches which help to address inequality and poverty;”.

This is probably one of the most important sections we will deal with in the Bill. There are different interpretations of the concept of "just transition". Deputy Michael Collins hinted at this in his contribution. All communities have to benefit and must be treated in a fair and equal way. The point is that we are not starting from equality. There is not equality right across society. We are starting from different bases.

The discussion that most reflected this was on carbon taxes and the question of how they are implemented. Carbon taxes, as they have been applied by the State, are exactly what we do not need. This is not what just transition means. It does not mean piling taxes on the people who can least afford it and ignoring those who benefit the most from the pollution and warming of the planet and leaving them untouched without having to pay their fair share.

Just transition should also look at how communities and workers are treated. The Bord na Móna workers are a good case in point. The Minister says they will be given jobs retrofitting and money will be put into retraining them but giving them minimum wage jobs in a recycling factory is not a just transition. It does not tick the boxes. This really has to be developed in a way that defines just transition as being central to how we implement it. It is very obvious that we will not bring communities and workers with us, and we will not bring all that we need to bring with us, if we do not have this at its heart. Many other amendments have been tabled on this and we should have a decent discussion on it.

The amendment covers decent, fair and high-value work, contributing to sustainable economic approaches and trying to undermine and eliminate poverty. We will not do this by piling carbon taxes on the poor and letting the very wealthy fossil fuel industry and aviation industry off without paying their fair share.