Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

On the corporate Bill, I should be clear it is Senator Ruane’s Bill. Like me, the Senator is a member of the Civil Engagement Group. It was not an alternative to the labelling idea but rather related to what is called corporate accountability every year. The idea is that, as a whole, corporations would have to publish their emissions, much like we are doing now with requiring much more transparency in the gender equality area within corporations. It is designed to have that joined-up picture in order that it will not be the same companies producing the green product and then squeezing the last drops out of the fossil fuel model product, alongside each other and coming from the same company. It is quite complementary to the other idea.

On loss and damage, it has to be part of that issue of historical responsibility. That is fundamental. We owe an immense debt. One guest spoke beautifully about how we are losing the people and places we know but also the nature we know, which is culturally important to us. One part of that loss and damage, as well as the loss of life we are seeing in the Horn of Africa, for example, and through flooding, relates to cultural loss.

I welcome the comment about phones, which is just one aspect of the issue. Within the circular economy, precious metals are something we need to be really conscious of. It is one thing to say we are using products that will not last, but mining precious metals and then disposing of them so readily is another. Apparently, at the moment, if tech waste is mined, more gold is extracted than in direct, fresh mining. That is why we mentioned the energy charter. In that non-proliferation treaty, if countries want to move away from fossil fuels and radically stop extracting, companies might sue them and that is a fear. That is why we talk about leaving the energy charter treaty in order that companies will not be able to sue countries if they make that decision to draw a line on extraction. Similarly, it is important there will not be other treaties that allow corporations to sue countries if they stop bad mining practices, and that is why the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement is one I have opposed. That is going to be very important in the future because mining is going to be a huge global justice issue. It is vital we utilise every bit of metal we have taken out of the Earth before we extract more and more.