Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The Social Democrats strongly supports this important Bill. Well done to Deputy Thomas Pringle and his colleagues for bringing it forward. It is important to note the outstanding work being done by various NGOs working in this field and their constant provision of research evidence and the lobbying of Members to act in this area. In many ways, they put it up to us to live up to our responsibilities. We greatly appreciate the fact that Deputy Thomas Pringle has provided that opportunity for us and is giving a lead.

There is no point in me reiterating the compelling evidence of man's contribution to climate change. The time for that debate has long since passed, albeit, disappointingly, a particular individual seems still to be arguing about it. From our point of view, the question was decided a long time ago. Climate change is a stark reality, but our continued investment in fossil fuels is the very definition of short-termism. We have had a major problem during the years in this country of thinking only in terms of electoral cycles rather than taking a longer term view of the welfare of citizens of the State and the world, whose interests are closely related. We are investing State funds in companies which are destroying our future.

The response of the Government to the Bill is shocking and shameful. Late last year the World Meteorological Organization published findings which showed that in 2016 global temperatures were running 1.2o Celsius above pre-industrial levels. We are now dangerously close to exceeding the 1.5o level, the level climate scientists say will be catastrophic for the global climate. This is an irreversible tipping point acknowledged in the Paris Agreement which was ratified by the Dáil. If we are to avoid exceeding this level, the majority of existing fossil fuel reserves must remain unburned. The fact that these fuels may not be burned in Ireland does not reduce our moral obligation to reduce their use globally. We must be unequivocal on this point. The fact that the President-elect of the country which is the second largest contributor of greenhouse gases refers to climate change as a hoax and has vowed to dismantle his country's Environmental Protection Agency means that there can be no double standards in our response to climate change.

The time has come for a Government-wide approach to tackling climate change. It is no longer good enough to limit our contribution to a single Department. We need every Department to play its part. This is not to say the provisions of the Bill are in some way arduous. In fact, the opposite is the case. The step of reducing our investment and eliminating it within a short period of time would be a small but significant one. It would send the very clear message that Ireland was going to live up to its responsibilities in this area and that was going to take climate change and its wider responsibilities seriously. It is welcome that it looks like the Bill will be passed and I congratulate all those responsible for it. However, I must repeat that the Government's response is shameful.

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