Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I wish to share my time with Deputy Bannon, by agreement.

I agree with the Minister that the need to combat global warming, or climate change, has assumed monumental proportions. It is not as crucial for the likes of me as it is for the young people who are sitting in the Visitors Gallery. The issue will affect their futures. It is about time we stopped fooling ourselves by pretending the evidence is inconclusive. Climate change is probably one of the biggest problems facing humanity and it is being brought about as a result of our own activities.

In Ireland, this trend has not only continued but the rate of increase has accelerated, with potentially horrendous consequences. Everything, from farming, through manufacturing to running our cars and heating our homes, generates the greenhouse gases that cause the problem. The Kyoto Protocol, which set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is an attempt at an agreement to control the likely rise in temperatures. Under Kyoto, a collective EU target was set of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 8% before 2012. Emission targets were set for each country and, as an incentive for changing behaviour, a trading system was established in which the major polluters could buy and sell carbon permits. Following the treaty, the Irish Government agreed to legally binding limits on the production of greenhouse gases and, based on 1990 as a benchmark year, agreed to cap the rise in emissions at 13% above the 1990 level by 2010. In 1990, Ireland produced 54 million tonnes of greenhouse gases but our output has since increased by more than 30%, which means we are greatly exceeding our legally binding targets.

The Environmental Protection Agency's figures for 2005 indicated that gas emissions have increased to 69.95 million tonnes. By far the greatest increase, at more than 160%, was experienced in the transport sector. Road transport accounts for 96% of that sector's figures. Emissions by the energy sector increased by up to38%. Agriculture is responsible for 28% of emissions, energy 19%, the residential sector 10%, industry 9%, commercial and institutional 4% and waste 2.5%. It is about time we found out where the problems are arising in individual sectors. Ireland now rates as one of the worst performers in the EU in terms of cutting our gas emissions. This is not a pleasant record or one about which we can boast.

It is a pity the debate is subject to time constraints because the House seldom has an opportunity to discuss climate change and energy security. Unless we are prepared to face up to the facts, climate change will create a much different living and working environment and radically alter the economy, threatening our prosperity and well-being. A year ago, the landmark Stern report, compiled by British and former World Bank economist, Sir Nicholas Stern, warned that ignoring climate change could precipitate a major economic upheaval on a par with the depression of the 1930s. This is the prospect we face.

As the Minister correctly noted, the forthcoming Bali conference will be essential in terms of setting targets for the future. The International Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, estimates that temperatures will rise by between 1% and 4% by the end of the century. However, a recent International Energy Agency, IEA, report which examined rapid emissions growth in China and India forecast that the world could warm by a potentially disastrous 6% by 2030. Any increase above 2% would be likely to have a significant effect on sea levels and weather patterns. For the first time, the IPCC also notes alarming possibilities such as the relatively rapid melting of polar ice and the future melting of ice sheets in Greenland and western Antarctica.

Climate change and energy security are inextricably linked. As the song goes, one cannot have one without the other. The current means of providing our energy supply cannot be sustained. As the Minister correctly noted, between 80% and 90% of Ireland's energy comes from imported fossil fuels, which leaves us extremely exposed in terms of availability and price. We must make changes now. By 2020 our energy use will have increased by a further 30% on current levels. As the Minister indicated, 85% of gas consumed in Ireland is imported, principally from the North Sea where supplies are being depleted by 7% to 8% per annum. We are dependent on Norwegian gas for as long as it is available to us. However, Britain and Ireland have been refused entry into one of the largest gas fields in Norway located, I believe, at Troll.

When gas supplies run out, including those located in the west and south-west, we will be totally dependent on Russia unless an extraordinary find is made in the meantime. We must explore every possible avenue to change the way in which we produce energy. The recent Government White Paper entitled Delivering a Sustainable Energy Future for Ireland must not be left to gather dust in Departments, it must be acted on.

It has been a great pleasure and honour for me to be elected Chairman of the new Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security. As an all-party committee we will not treat these issues as political footballs. I hope the work of the joint committee will be of great benefit in dealing with the horrendous problem we face. We also hope to secure the co-operation of members of the public by speaking in simple language and producing documents that will bring home to everyone that each of us has a contribution to make in this regard. It helps, for instance, to switch off lights or computers when they are not needed. Every evening we see lights blazing in Government Departments, yet politicians lecture everybody else on the need to conserve energy.

Starting with small steps will lead to big things. It is a question of education and the new committee will try to educate people in simple language and alert them to the action they can take at home, in the workplace or in terms of travel and transport. As with Deputy McManus, rather than using my car, I hop on the DART a couple of times a week. This is a simple step.

I welcome this debate as the beginning of a process and hope the committee I chair will provide further opportunities for debates in the Chamber when it produces reports.

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