Professor John Sweeney:

The Senator's comment about the extent to which space is created or used up for other countries by our approach is relevant. It is also relevant to the comments made by Senator Noonan about the responsibilities we have to other countries. The Paris Agreement follows on from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It has the status of a treaty. The important point on which we are centring today is the requirement that Ireland is bound by the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. Equity, in terms of our contribution, is not enough. We must create space for some of the other countries in the world that require an increase in their agricultural emissions, for example, to develop. This is where the committee's deliberations revolve around the issues of fairness and equity. In particular, I reinforce what Professor McMullin said about the council's choice of 2020 as the reference year. That is the year chosen as the beginning of Ireland's historical responsibility for climate change. To me, that is indefensible. If you were to go to an international meeting and say that you only assume responsibility from 2020, you would be laughed out of the place. Between 1990 and 2019, for example, Ireland emitted 2,000 million tonnes of greenhouse gases. In the industrialisation period before that, it was roughly comparable, albeit a bit less. We cannot say we are only going to claim the remaining carbon budget on the basis of our historical responsibilities from five years ago and have any credibility on the international scene.

That is where the CCAC should be focusing a bit more.