Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion to ratify the UN Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Sinn Féin welcomes the motion as it is essential that the Government takes the issue of climate change seriously. We broadly welcome the COP21 Paris Agreement. However, there are a number of concerns that need to be addressed, both nationally and internationally, if the aspirations of this agreement are to be realised. There has been inaction by successive Governments and this country has been slow to deal with the issue of greenhouse gas emissions. There is a carbon cliff in front of us, so we must play catch-up to meet our obligations and to avoid fines of hundreds of millions of euro.

The Minister stated that Ireland's national policy position is underpinned by the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015. We supported this Act, which was a positive step, but it is fair to say that a number of us, particularly in our party, recognised that it had some shortcomings as it alone is not adequate to ensure Ireland meets its obligations. The Act does not include firm sectoral targets that we tried to have included during its passage through the Dáil. The Act is not adequate in terms of following on from the action plan on climate change which ended in 2012, which had targets based on the Kyoto protocol. Public consultation on the legislation attracted some 600 submissions, most of which recommended setting definite targets in legislation, but that recommendation was left to one side and ignored. There is no definition in the Act of what a low-carbon economy actually means. Further, an expert panel has been put in place, which is welcome, but it is not completely independent of Government.

Will the Minister take on board that further work could be carried by local authorities? I am raising this in a positive way to try to see if we can use the local authorities more to deal with the issue of climate change. There was some reform of the local authorities a couple of years ago, but city and county councils could be given a more significant role with regard to mitigation plans, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and sustainable development generally. From speaking to councillors throughout the country, I know they are willing to take on that role and there is no reason not to do it. We have to devolve this responsibility. It will not be dealt with by this House, Government Buildings or any Department alone. They will do some of it, but this has to be driven at grassroots level as well.

Comparing the report from the Joint Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht with the Act shows that there is a number of deficiencies. The report indicated that Ireland’s existing annual emission limits, as agreed in March 2013 under the European Union effort-sharing decision or any further modification of these, should have been written into the Act as a target for the 2013 to 2020 period. It is now important to get the positive aspects of the Bill implemented and that we ensure we meet our EU and international obligations. We also submit that we should be a little more ambitious and not allow any slippage. We should get up and get ahead of our game on this issue.

It is telling that the biggest influencing factor on Ireland’s reduction in emissions over the past decade has been the economic crash. We have a carbon cliff in front of us, but it would be much worse only for the economic recession.

We are gradually ramping up emissions again through economic growth and other factors and it is not certain we will meet our 2020 targets.

At COP21 in Paris, the Taoiseach stated Ireland was "driving economic and environmental efficiency in agriculture and achieving results". The agrifood sector is very important and Ireland produces food for many other countries. However, if we are to achieve the results the Taoiseach spoke about, we need to develop other more sustainable farming practices. While the beef and dairy sectors, on which Ireland is heavily reliant, are very important, we must encourage diversification in tillage, particularly by restarting the sugar industry, which was closed down under a previous Government. I have spoken previously about the reasons diversification is needed and highlighted the carbon sink value of the sugar beet crop.

A major influence on how we tackle climate change will be the approach we take to the issue of energy. Ireland is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels for its energy supply, with 88% of total supply currently being imported. To tackle climate change, we must produce more energy from renewable sources. The best way to develop renewable energy is in conjunction with communities and the semi-State sector. The Government must provide supports for community energy projects. Templederry community wind farm in County Tipperary is a good example of a successful community energy project. State companies such as Bord na Móna, Coillte and the ESB can play a bigger role in renewable energy production. However, we should not rely solely on wind energy as a renewable source of energy. I have outlined previously the difficulties caused by putting all our eggs into the wind basket, as it were, and I do not propose to rehearse my arguments on this issue.

As matters stand, Ireland will not meet its energy targets for 2020. The Government must take the initiative to accelerate the development of renewable energy and save on energy emissions as a key part of Ireland’s infrastructural development. There is untapped potential to develop the green economy. Projects such as solar installation and energy efficiency upgrades on homes have the potential to create thousands of jobs and reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. A large number of pre-1961 homes will be more difficult to insulate than those that have already been insulated because they do not have cavity walls. While considerable progress has been made on houses built between 1960 and 2007, we must start insulating houses built before 1961.

There is significant potential for the development of renewable energy projects, both large and small. Renewable energy development is a vital element in the fight to reduce our CO2 emissions. It is also central to securing energy security because our dependence on imported fuel is unsustainable economically and environmentally.

While Sinn Féin is committed to renewable energy, we believe the Government's approach is over-reliant on wind energy. A mix of renewable energy sources must be brought on stream. As the Minister will be aware, projects involving other renewable sources are experiencing difficulty in securing connections. Solar, biomass, wave and hydro energy are potentially rich sources of renewable energy and semi-State bodies must be facilitated in taking the lead in these areas.

Diversification in transport is also required. A recent report to the Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport showed that emissions from transport have more than doubled. This matter must be addressed, including by increasing the number of electric vehicles on the roads. Petrol and diesel vehicles must be replaced and public transport also needs to be improved. Notwithstanding ambitious targets for alternative powered vehicles, sales of electric cars have been lacklustre. At the beginning of October, just 371 new electric cars had been registered in the market. Petrol electric plug-in hybrid sales so far this year have totalled 267, while sales of diesel plug-in hybrid vehicles had reached a grand total of 11. Clearly, we are lagging behind other countries in this area. Accelerating the switch to electric vehicles will require incentives and direct State involvement in rolling out the required infrastructure. In Norway, electric car sales account for 22.4% of new sales. This was achieved through a range of measures over the past 25 years, including direct government intervention. Micro-generation is another area that must be taken seriously.

Global temperatures are rocketing. Yesterday, I noted a reading of 16° Celsius on an outdoors thermometer. It is nearing the end of October and we have not yet had frost. I remember frosts in September. The effects of climate change are before our eyes and we must take them seriously. As a developed country, we must address the issue of climate justice.

Ireland is good in areas such as recycling and food production. We should also become a world leader in reaching greenhouse gas reductions.

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