Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill, which Fianna Fáil supports. Fianna Fáil has a strong record on introducing progressive measures to tackle climate change and recognises that we must move towards a carbon neutral economy and society in order to protect our environment for the enjoyment of future generations. We are keenly aware of the challenges that climate change presents but we recognise that these must be overcome if we are to avoid and mitigate the devastating impacts of climate change.

This Bill is part of a global campaign to highlight the need to reduce fossil fuel dependence in order to ensure that the Paris Agreement targets on climate change are met. Climate change is the biggest challenge of the 21st century and we must work on many fronts to find a solution that will safeguard our planet for future generations.

This week the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, both reported from the US that 2016 was the hottest year on record. This is the third consecutive year in which this has happened. Clearly, land and ocean temperatures are increasing. This is coinciding with large increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The results of this are and will continue to be devastating, particularly for developing countries where the poorest people in this world reside. Real and tangible examples of climate change are clear to see. Ethiopia is currently enduring a drought that has been brought about by an El Niño that has intensified because of climate change. Men, women and children are urgently in need of clean water and food as a result. In addition, catastrophic weather events are increasing both in intensity and frequency and this is also having a disproportionate impact on poor people compared with people in the developed world. All the while, developed countries are producing significantly higher levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The behaviour of one group of countries negatively affects the lives of people in another group of countries and we have a moral obligation as global citizens to address this and to fulfil our obligations under the Paris Agreement. We must, both as a country and as human beings, do all we can get to a carbon-free economy.

While the primary purpose of this Bill is focused on developing nations and the people who reside in them, we also have a self-preservation obligation because ultimately, climate change knows no boundaries or borders. Ultimately, it will begin to affect us here in Ireland and in other developed countries. Indeed we can already see the effects here with more flooding and other extreme weather events.

The Paris Agreement and the obligations therein present huge opportunities as well as challenges for Ireland. It is essential that, as a country, we live up to this agreement and meet our emissions reduction and renewable energy targets across all areas including electricity production, agriculture, home heating and transport. With Ireland obligated to meet the EU target of 16% for all energy generated from renewable sources by 2020, we should be branching out and expanding our renewable portfolio into areas such as offshore wind, biomass, tidal and solar energy where possible. We also have to look at afforestation and better wetland protection as a means of mitigating emissions as well as protecting our natural heritage and biodiversity. Only 11% of our land is forested compared to 33% across the EU. Afforestation has huge potential in helping us to meet our emission targets.

Rather than taking real action on the issue of climate change, the current Administration has dragged its heels and failed to deliver on the promises it made in its programme for partnership Government. It has failed to publish planning guidelines for wind farms, meaning that communities and wind farm investors have been left in the dark about future projects. The Government also promised an overarching framework for Ireland’s transition to a greener future, namely, the national mitigation plan. A draft of this document was due in December 2016 but the Minister has failed utterly to deliver it. Meeting Ireland’s climate change commitments will not come about through flowery rhetoric and broken promises. It requires real, substantive action from the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, and his Cabinet colleagues.

Fianna Fáil has tried to play its role in moving Ireland towards becoming a low-carbon and, eventually, a carbon-neutral society. We published the Climate Change Response Bill 2010 on 23 December of that year, which passed First Stage in the Seanad before the Dáil was dissolved. That Bill set out ambitious and specific targets for Ireland, rather than the vague platitudes this Government has offered. To further do our part, Fianna Fáil will be supporting the passage of this Bill through to Committee Stage because we broadly support its principles. The Bill seeks to compel the NTMA to divest the ISIF of its assets in fossil feel companies over a five-year period. It is a part of a global campaign to divest in fossil fuel companies. The primary purpose of this campaign is to compel the fossil fuel companies to change their behaviour.

It is estimated that the ISIF currently has assets in at least 152 fossil fuel companies with a value of approximately €130 million. This represents about 12.2% of all stocks owned by ISIF. I am confident that the NTMA has the expertise to undertake a divestment strategy, if compelled to do so, in a manner that would secure an acceptable return for the Irish state.

While my party broadly agrees with the principles of the Bill, we do have real and significant concerns. We are concerned about the potential unintended impacts of passing the Bill in its current form. It is for this reason that the Bill requires substantial and detailed pre-legislative scrutiny. Fianna Fáil will participate constructively in this process and will bring forward amendments where appropriate. I very much welcome the conciliatory approach of the proposer of the Bill, Deputy Pringle. He has acknowledged that we must ensure that passage of the Bill will not give rise to any unintended consequences. He has indicated a willingness to work with others in this House on the legislation. The new regime or new politics at work in the House allows for that kind of combined approach to the advancement of important legislation. In fairness to Deputy Pringle, he has not sought to make this issue his alone. We must build a consensus around accepting that climate change is, without a doubt, the most important issue that we will face as a society and as a Government within a world context.

One of our principle concerns is that this Bill will not address the underlying cause of climate change, namely the demand for fossil fuels. To be fair, the Bill does not seek to do so. However, without addressing this demand, oil and gas companies will continue to make substantial profits and with substantial profits comes substantial investment. If investment is not available from State entities, it will be provided by various market sources.

This process will continue until the demand for energy derived from fossil fuels is addressed. As a result of this there is a risk the Bill will be symbolic in nature, which is also important, but will not address the underlying issue of a reduction in demand. ISIF would be divesting large holdings in fossil fuel companies at a potential cost to the taxpayer, and it is worth reflecting on this, but in my view it is still the right thing to do. It is important we are seen to address climate change and fulfil our obligations under the Paris Agreement. In the coming months, Fianna Fáil will bring forward ambitious plans to limit the use of fossil fuels and create a shift away from demand for their production and distribution.

Another potential issue that will have to be addressed on Committee Stage and in pre-legislative scrutiny is the potential impact on Irish small and medium-sized companies. The Minister of State indicated there may be issues in this regard and spoke about Bord na Móna. As he knows, ISIF has no investment in Bord na Móna, but there are potential opportunities for investment and the Minister of State will have received the same briefing as the rest of us. Nobody wants to see Bord na Móna, the ESB or any other company with a strategy of moving away from fossil fuels and towards a greener environment starved of potential investment from ISIF. These issues can be addressed in pre-legislative scrutiny and on Committee Stage. I hope the Bill will pass and that the Government will participate in the process with all the information it has available to it to ensure unintended consequences do not come to fruition and are provided for, and that it will work constructively with all sides to ensure the Bill meets the overall objectives set out. The Bill could have a contrary effect on certain small and medium-sized companies if it was not amended as we propose. Companies transitioning to a more sustainable energy provision could be deemed to be fossil fuel companies under the definition in the Bill and as a result they would lose funding, or potential funding, from ISIF and would be unable to complete the transition to more sustainable energy.

If I could conclude with half a minute-----

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