Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak about the report and the fact that we have the Bill which has been long awaited. I thought it was going to be a little like Johnny Logan's song, "What's Another Year?" I know that the Minister of State, Deputy Áodhan Ó Ríordáin, is into music. We have been waiting for the Bill a long time. I introduced a Bill over one year ago which reflected Sinn Féin's position on the issue of climate change. It dealt with the crucial issues of meeting targets, incrementally in a measured way, holding successive Governments to account and, particularly, avoiding carbon cliffs. We are at a carbon cliff because we are behind the curve in dealing with these issues. We are not where we should be, even in terms of meeting our 2020 targets. There are huge concerns about how we should move forward.

The national climate change strategy expired in 2012 and what the Bill proposes is, unfortunately, totally inadequate to follow on from it. There is no excuse for this, especially in the light of the fact that the Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht - an all-party committee - put forward proposals in its 2013 report. I hope that as the Bill proceeds to Committee Stage, we can work in the same spirit. The previous Minister, former Deputy Phil Hogan, gave the impression that what we had set out in our report which attracted 600 submissions would be considered favourably. Unfortunately, many of our recommendations were ignored or have been diluted. I know that the Minister of State is here on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, and has put his best foot forward in terms of outlining the Labour Party's position. I can assure him, however, that the Bill is a long way from what that party's position used to be on climate change.

The report of the joint committee and the Bill are two very different documents.

The possible courses of action set out in each are very different. Despite consultation and the committee's report, the former Minister revised the heads of the Bill, which was published in April 2014, and again ignored the advice and recommendations of the committee. It is regrettable that happened.

We are all concerned about climate change. Very few people now seriously doubt whether it is happening. Our weather and atmosphere are being turbo-charged by emissions. Where extreme weather events used to happen once in a lifetime, in Ireland we now experience them every year. Deputy O'Dowd said humans do not deal with problems that do not seem to be immediate to them. We have grown accustomed to the habit of saying that problems are for somebody else to solve. All parties in the Dáil share the concern that we cannot offload these problems to somebody else.

I have heard the argument put forward that we are such a small country it does not matter what we do, and it is up to China, the United States and Russia to address the issue. It is not, because it is affecting us. It affected Ireland last January and February when there were storms as a result of rising sea levels and tides which were brought about by global warming. We saw the effects on the south and west coasts. We have to deal with the issue and have a moral obligation to do so. Unfortunately, I can see Commissioner Phil Hogan's fingerprints all over the Bill.

Some of the points we raised and possible courses of action we pointed out have been taken, and I welcome the fact that there will be five year rather than seven year plans. The committee proposed other progressives measures, which are included in the Bill. One of the major gaps is the reference to low carbon emissions and the absence of that definition. The Government will say it was the policy position put forward in April 2012, but it is not in the Bill. The starting point has to be a definition of what is meant by the term "low carbon society". We must also define what we mean by the term "low carbon".

Ministers have confidently predicted that Ireland will pass EU targets. I recall the former Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, when he held the energy brief, justifying plans to build large wind farm projects in the midlands to export energy on that basis. I recall that he stated Ireland would be in a position to export electricity created from renewable targets because we would have surpassed our targets for electricity generation from renewables. However, that implies that this would have been part of meeting or overtaking the EU targets on carbon emissions, if renewables were gradually but progressively replacing fossils fuels as a source of energy.

Does the absence of targets in the Bill indicate that such confidence has evaporated? We know the wind farm projects have taken a turn for the worse. Have the Government and relevant Ministers with responsibility for these matters revisited that? Do they know where matters stand in that regard? Perhaps the Minister of State might inform us as to whether he believes this country will meet the targets for renewable energy generation. If not, perhaps he can explain why all of that was not factored in when targets for the reduction in emissions were set, something which could have been included in the Bill.

All of this highlights the total absence of a guiding strategy for energy, which is intimately tied to the reduction in carbon emissions. The only option in an economy and society such as ours is to replace our overwhelming dependancy on imported fossil fuels, which are the source of such emissions, with renewable and native sources of fuel. The country is unique in terms of geography, in particular in the European context, with regard to the potential for generating energy from renewable sources. Wind has occupied the main focus to date, which is not correct as one can only do so much with wind energy. The grid can only take so much energy from wind at a particular time during peaks of high wind. We have not fully considered the potential of the untapped energy from wave and tidal sources. That must be done. We are trying to play catch-up. It is directly linked to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The Bill, as it stands, is not fit-for-purpose without having specific targets to be achieved within specific timeframes, such as 2020, 2030, 2040 and 2050. We need to have our own targets, rather than those which are handed to us by international bodies or the EU. We are dodging the issue by not setting out clear targets. I hope there can be all-party co-operation on improving the Bill because it is very much a Fine Gael, as opposed to a Labour Party, Bill. A number of areas need to be addressed.

The definition of a "low carbon economy or society" needs to be addressed. Our party feels very strongly about sectoral targets because there will be a row between different sectors. The parcel will be passed around but this is not a parcel which can be passed around. Climate change is happening here and now, and we have to deal with it now. While I welcome the fact that the national plan is now a five year, rather than a seven year, plan, we have questions about the expert advisory council. It is very important to have it but the committee was very clear in setting out how it should be constituted and operate independently, which is very important.

We must take climate justice into consideration. The Bill is weak, has a number of gaps and has moved a long way from the possible courses of action on some issues which the committee report set out. I will table amendments on behalf of Sinn Féin in that regard. It is an issue with which we must deal.

There is a very conservative, Tea Party and republican school of thought in the United States, some places in Europe, Ireland and the Chamber to the effect that we should not talk about climate change because we cannot afford to do so. We cannot afford not to talk about and deal with it. As a state, we should embrace a low carbon economy in terms of economic development. We should become a leader in green technology and the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. We should use this challenge as a plus for our food, tourism and technology industries, and turn it to our advantage. I hope we can do that. I look forward to debating the Bill and making amendments to it.

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