Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Thank you. We will have time for a second round of questions. I see Senator Higgins is indicating but I want to ask one question first. I want to bring it back to the subject of the carbon budgets, which we have been discussing all week. It is a very valuable discussion on just transition and how we manage the social and economic impacts of the actions that we take. To bring it back to the carbon budget trajectory that has been proposed by the Climate Change Advisory Council up to 2030, it is a 4.8% reduction in emissions each year through the first budget, then there is a real jump to 8.3% after 2025 through to 2030, and then beyond 2030 there is an even greater jump. Has NESC done any analysis of that pathway and what the social and economic implications of that path are? I note Professor Ó Gallachóir on Tuesday said they had to consider those issues. We had the independent scientists in yesterday, separate from the scientists who were on the sub-committee of the Climate Change Advisory Council, and they were saying we needed to go a lot further but it was pointed out that there are implications of going further and that climate action is very hard when it comes down to it. Has NESC undergone any analysis of that particular pathway and can it comment? Does it see its role as perhaps commenting after the event, once that policy decision is taken by the Government?