Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I listened to the speeches from Paris yesterday. They were passionate and inspiring, and were saying all the right things. However, saying is one thing and doing is something else. We know that climate change is happening, we know that it is extremely dangerous and we know the negotiations have been going on for over 20 years. As there has been mainly talk the reality is very grim. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tells us that, if we continue as we are, 50 million more people will be at risk of hunger by 2050, and the World Bank states that, in 15 years time, 100 million more are going to join those who are already in extreme poverty. When we look at the CO2 emissions in metric tonnes per capita, Uganda at 0 .1, India at 1.2 and Ireland at 10.5.

We know those countries which contribute least to greenhouse gases are the most impacted by climate change, and they are already suffering conflict, hunger, desperate poverty and ill-health. We also know that it is human activities in the developed world, such as burning fossil fuels and emissions, that are the main causes of global warning. We have so much evidence of the devastating effects. Ban Ki-moon said yesterday that bold climate action is in the national interest of every single country represented but the submitted pledges are not enough to keep warming below 2°C and the EU's pledge of at least a 40% reduction is too low and should be 55%.

My question relates to finance. We made no contribution in 2015 to the Green Climate Fund and while we have pledged €2 million in the 2016 budget, there is nothing for subsequent years. The average EU pledge is $12 per capita, whereas ours translates to 50 cent. Was Ireland's contribution to the Green Climate Fund not discussed at Cabinet level before the Taoiseach went to Paris? Will we commit to the fund in line with pledges made by similar developed countries? Will we consider the climate justice fund which was recommended by the environment committee in 2013, especially as the Taoiseach himself committed to climate justice?

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