Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 24 October 2023
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action
Citizens Assembly Report on Biodiversity Loss: Discussion (Resumed)
Dr. Martha O'Hagan-Luff:
A sense of agency, with education and support. It is getting hearts and minds, public support and buy-in.
The last thing I wanted to say is there is a UK council - I cannot remember which council - that issued a local government bond. It is the same idea, where citizens fund public work to improve the environment. It was so localised that it was in their local council, which again strengthens that sense of agency. There was also a nice twist in that it offered an interest rate on the bond, which I suggest the citizens' green bond would do as well, in that it would be a savings bond. The council offered an alternative. Instead of receiving one's interest, that money could be spent on planting trees in one's council area. For some people, that does not work. They need a financial return from their savings but for other people, I thought it was a nice additional feature to it.