Ms Maude Cullen-Mouze:

I thank the Senator for her very valuable contribution. I wish to comment on the contributions made by Deputies Cronin and O'Rourke, and Senator Boylan.

The capitalist system that we currently have does not work and it should be clear to everyone that there is a major problem. I wish to propose that the idea that we could have eternal economic growth on a finite planet is ludicrous and one does not need to be a maths or physics teacher to understand that.

Deputy O'Rourke asked about consumption. The idea that we must continue to produce ever more has led to extreme overconsumption and we are consuming more than we need. There are also billionaires who consume far more than any human could ever need, which is difficult to comprehend. We do not need so much. People can live good, valuable lives with less. A study was conducted, which I cannot cite off the top of my head but I know that there is an economist who calculated that every person on this planet can have their basic needs of food, shelter and a good life met within our planetary boundaries. That is something that is possible and is not out of bounds. Everyone can eat, have a place to sleep and have a good life without destroying the planet.

Our capitalist system is a problem. Slapping a bandage on it by reducing carbon emissions or trying to find a technical or magical solution that will suck carbon out of the air is not going to solve this problem. Even if, by chance, that solution solved climate change then it would not solve biodiversity loss or the plethora of other problems that exist, which are also symptoms of the capital system in how it is destroying the planet and society.

In conclusion, I thank everyone for their valuable and thought-provoking contributions.