David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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What are they going to do? The ESRI officials are not telling me what an individual is going to do, apart from the possibility that people might turn off electricity. They may or may not do so. That is a real assumption because they may be unable to do so. There are several ways in which people can reduce emissions. People can change their car - that is one option. They can use public transport if it is available. If it is not available, there is not much for them. They can change the way their homes are heated. They can get a grant or spend money on deep retrofitting. What if the majority of families cannot afford a deep retrofit or an electric car and already use public transport? I am trying to understand what substantial changes they could make. Any changes would have to be substantial to reach a 3.9% drop.

That is only for households. I have not taken into account industry, which produces a great deal of carbon. Agriculture produces a great deal of carbon too. There would have to be a significant change in behaviour for the State to see a 3.9% reduction in its carbon footprint. A carbon tax increase would not have a major impact on industry or agriculture to that degree. I imagine the majority of the reduction comes from ordinary households. Is that correct?