Ms Ciara Kirrane:

With regard to Senator Keane's first question on balancing responsibility, by passing legislation and by limiting and reducing emissions, we are acting in our own interests as well as in the interests of the developing world. The cost of not acting will have a major impact at the Irish level. We have already spoken about costs in terms of dealing directly with impacts that may come down the line from climate change, like the €900 million figure quoted for the fodder crisis in the Irish Examiner. We also have international obligations in terms of supporting developing countries. The issue of loss and damage arises in international negotiations. That is about compensating developing countries for the loss and damage they experience to which they cannot adapt. It is early days but some of the early proposals are that contributions are based on a per capita emissions basis and per capita GDP. Our levels of emissions per capita are high so we will have a high obligation in that regard. We need to consider these points. By acting to reduce emissions now, we will be acting in our interests in terms of the savings we can make on international obligations for finance, such as loss and damage.

In terms of the definition of low carbon, it makes sense to define this for Ireland and for the Bill. Without defining it, we are using vague language that is open to interpretation. I strongly believe planning would be incredibly difficult when working off a definition that is not clearly defined. The European Council objective of 80% to 95% as indicated earlier is an appropriate definition we can apply.

Caoimhe de Barra has addressed the question but another important point is to provide leadership on the issue. It is not an issue that gets a major amount of attention in the media but it is in our interests to act now, at the earliest possible stages, to prevent catastrophic climate change. It is the responsibility of the Government and the committee to show leadership and to try to address these problems in an adequate manner.