Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

Bhí mé ag súil go mbeadh an Teachta Chris Andrews anseo agus má thagann sé, beidh cuig nóimead agam, ach fan go bhfeicfimíd, mar a deirtear.

I thank Deputy Liz McManus and my fellow members of the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security for putting together the draft legislation. It is an important demonstration that this issue must have cross-party agreement because the legislation will need to be used by a number of future Governments, regardless of whether they serve their full time. This is how climate change needs to be addressed and it is very heartening that we have such awareness in this House at this time. Based on my recent membership of the committee it is encouraging to see the proactive nature of the contributions of those who have presented evidence, covering matters such as the economic effects of the high price of oil and gas, the business opportunities in the smart economy, the technological issues that Siemens covered recently and afforestation that Coillte discussed yesterday. All of this highlights that this is not an easy area in which to introduce legislation. It needs to take account of a number of economic factors as well as potential and therefore it needs to be broad as well as long term. I hope it will result in a fair hearing because by its nature it needs to take on board a number of sometimes quite competing interests. However, we need to distinguish between the people who, as the Minister of State, Deputy Cuffe, said, clearly articulate the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and those who come from a business as usual point of view. Some of those people are very powerful, which makes it all the more difficult to get one's scientifically-based evidence across. Because of the economic crisis, it does not allow for the - I was going to say luxury - necessity of a full debate, on which we need to focus.

There are good examples of countries that are embracing the changes. We are embracing them in terms of our own measures in the smart economy, retrofitting of housing, renewable energy developments and better planning. However, there are good examples including Güssing in Austria, Växjö in Sweden and Freiburg in Germany. In addition, Sweden has a national target of moving beyond oil by 2020. Those are the kinds of measures that highlight that to be competitive the resistance to change has to give way to a necessity to change in Government, the public service and all the political points of view in this House, which is not easy because change is particularly painful from an economic point of view.

I welcome that we will have the announcement of the Government's Bill, which is long overdue and which comes as a result of considerable debate between Departments and a wide range of sometimes competing interests. Credit is due to the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security for keeping the pressure on. I believe we will have a legally binding requirement to plan CO2 reductions for the first time, which is a breakthrough. At a time when we need to increase employment and meet our needs, we also need to move beyond a fossil-fuel economy, which will be to everybody's advantage and enhance the competitive status of the country.

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