Dáil debates

Thursday, 12 July 2018

Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages

 

2:40 pm

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I also thank Deputy Pringle for his fantastic work in producing this Bill and persisting with it to the point that it is going to be passed. I also wish to thank Trócaire, the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition and all those who have championed and supported this Bill. It is hugely important. As others have said, while the impact is modest at one level, it is an absolutely clear signal that we have to move rapidly to a fossil-free future. The public investment in that area must be concentrated in areas that do not further damage our environment or threaten the future of this planet. It should be invested in areas that will help reverse climate change and stabilise our climate and our environment. It is a fantastically positive moment that we are about to pass this into law. It is part of a sea change that is happening, and that sea change is because of the campaigning work of huge and growing numbers of environmental campaigners. They include young people and others who are determined to push this issue to the top of the agenda where it belongs, and force the political system to respond and address the issue of climate chaos and climate change.

I want to add one particular point in addition. I do not want to go over ground that has already been covered by Deputies Bríd Smith and Paul Murphy, although I should say that I endorse the call for this to be complementary to things like Deputy Bríd Smith's Petroleum and Other Minerals Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018. We need to move that legislation rapidly through as well. I hope we can do that early in the autumn and that there will be no attempt to block it. If we are serious about dealing with climate change and avoiding the climate cliff, the fines etc., we must clearly indicate that there is no justification whatsoever for extracting further fossil fuels in this country, or indeed anywhere else.

There is one particular point I want to underline. If we are going to move away from investment in fossil fuels, we must also dramatically increase investment in areas that will help reverse climate change and move us towards a sustainable future as far as climate and the environment are concerned. My particular hobby horse in this regard is the issue of forestry. As we move away from State investment in fossil fuels, I would really like to see not just Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, money, but National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, money and public investment directed into forestry. Deforestation is responsible for 15 to 20% of all carbon dioxide emissions in the environment.

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