Ms Finola Finnan:

I wish to express my sincere thanks for the invitation to present at this hearing on the Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill. Trócaire is delighted to be before the committee. The organisation has worked hard on climate change in recent years. We are especially grateful to Deputy Pringle for introducing the Bill and to the Oireachtas committee for prioritising its consideration before the summer recess. In doing so, I believe the committee recognises the significant level of public interest in the Bill and the urgency of the issue, especially for the poorest people throughout the world whom Trócaire represent.

Trócaire was invited to attend an event in Cork city recently. Members of the local community had organised a forum on climate change and invited their local Deputies to engage on the issue of climate action and the Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill in particular. At the event a grandfather posed a question to the elected representatives and to the members of the public attending the event. The question was in two parts: "What did you do when you knew?" and "What will we tell our grandchildren when they ask us this question?" The simplicity and sincerity of his question brought everyone in the room beyond all the data to the basic moral challenge posed to each of us as we make decisions around climate change. I am putting the same question to everyone at the committee today.

Trócaire is already seeing the game-changing impacts of climate change in the countries where we work. We need look no further than the devastating food crisis currently taking hold in the eastern horn of Africa. I imagine committee members are aware that almost 25 million people are in urgent need of food aid. Millions are facing starvation in the coming months across Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan. The needs that we see are extraordinary and are caused by severe drought. In some cases this is exacerbated by conflict. This is the latest crisis in an increasing log of climate impacts that we have seen unfold in recent decades. It is an unfolding human tragedy that will lead to increasing poverty, hunger, inequality, displacement and conflict in countries that have done the least to cause it and that have the least capacity to cope with it.

As many committee members are aware, Trócaire is helping communities to adapt their livelihoods. We are providing humanitarian assistance to these frequent disasters and we are active at the moment in the eastern horn of Africa. We can see how fragile the situation is as well as the very real prospect of reaching a point beyond which these communities can adapt. As we meet these women and men face to face and see the suffering caused by the fossil-fuel-based economies of richer countries, we have to ask ourselves this question: "We know, so what are we doing?" That is why we are campaigning for climate action in Ireland with the support of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, Social Justice Ireland, the Environmental Pillar and thousands of members of the public.

We are also before the committee today to urge the committee and the Houses of the Oireachtas to progress and pass the Bill to divest the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund from fossil fuels as soon as possible. The vast majority of existing fossil fuel reserves must remain unburned if we are to deliver on the temperature limits set out in the Paris Agreement. I believe we are all in agreement on that now. The fossil fuel question represents a concrete and compelling test of our intent to deliver on the commitments in that landmark agreement. Christiana Figueres, the UN's chief diplomat responsible for the negotiation of the Paris Agreement, has warned that unless action and ambition are increased by 2020 it will not be possible to achieve the temperature limits set out in the agreement. This would make the sustainable development goals, which Ireland led the way in negotiating so successfully in 2015, impossible to achieve.

We have seen that divestment, even on a significant scale, does not result in the dissolution of an industry and historical evidence shows this too. However, it does shift public and political opinion, leading to changes in government policies, market norms and investment principles. It can significantly bolster political, public, private sector and investor understanding of why fossil fuels must be phased out as soon as possible. That is the reason we are behind it.

We neither want nor expect fossil fuel use to stop overnight. We want a timely, managed and just transition that puts those most vulnerable globally and in Ireland at the centre of concern. Failing to deliver on the Paris Agreement is not an option. This means stopping the expansion of the fossil fuel industry and stepping up the pace of the phase-out. We have heard good economic argument for that too.

In stark contrast with Ireland's strong reputation for global poverty eradication and responsible multilaterialism, Ireland is consistently failing to deliver on its commitments on climate change. Ireland cannot hide behind its small size and population. We must recognise that we have one of the highest levels of greenhouse gas emissions per capitain the world.

I will close by returning to the grandfather from Cork and to the millions of women, men and children in the poorest parts of the world whose lives and livelihood are at risk from climate impacts that are already too much for them. The transition is complex and must be managed. We recognise that. However, moral leadership that can unlock new ambition and progress is absolutely essential. In his seminal encyclical, Laudato si' - On Care For Our Common Home, Pope Francis states:

Hope would have us recognize that there is always a way out, that we can always redirect our steps, that we can always do something to solve our problems. Still, we can see signs that things are now reaching a breaking point...We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world...

Today we urge the committee and the Oireachtas to show that moral leadership and to continue the swift passage of the Bill. In doing so, the Oireachtas will send an incredibly important global message of hope, solidarity and political leadership that will benefit all.