Professor Valérie Masson-Delmotte:

On the first point, many countries are not on track. With respect to what has been achieved so far, approximately 50 countries have reached peak emissions and there is a decline, although often too slow with respect to what is at stake. What we observe is not just something for Ireland; it is much broader. This report was requested by delegates from countries during COP21. There would not have been agreement at COP21 if there had not been the indication to prepare this report, especially as some governments considered that the Paris agreement target of below 2° Celsius was not sufficient to avoid dangerous consequences in their regions. We have prepared this assessment. I have shared with the committee the key findings and there are 400 pages of more substantial information within the report, all of which is online. COP24 will be focused on dialogue but the same dialogue applies in each community and each country as to where we are, where we want to go and how we get there. Rather than thinking of climate change as a constraint, there is potential to see it as an opportunity to think of well-being for the future, for example, where we want to go, collectively, and how to improve health, transport or well-being within buildings. Climate is part of that, among many other aspects of sustainability.

The Chairman asked for examples. For land systems, our report shows the importance of thinking change as a whole, that is, to have adaptation and mitigation at the same time. For example, the agricultural system is resilient and can have a climate resilient development pathway. Options in the report are linked to conservation agriculture, sustainable intensification, livestock management, irrigation efficiency, agroforestry, managing food loss and waste, new technologies - for example, to reduce enteric methane emissions from cattle - ecosystem restoration, community-based adaptation and wetland management, and these are some of the key elements of a systems approach for land transitions. Ireland has significant potential for many of these aspects, so there are many opportunities. The key is thinking on the systems scale and integrating not just climate change but more particularly climate change in the context of diversity and well-being for people up-front.

The report also shows that, in the discussion of what can be the transitions, key issues are associated with power and inequalities. What works is based on inclusive processes. There are examples from other parts of the world of successful transitions in the agricultural sector, and I have in mind a co-operative of Danish and Swedish farmers that produces dairy products. This big co-operative is engaged in a transition with evidence for the ability to continuously decrease their greenhouse gas emissions. These are examples that work and that could be inspiring.