Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

(a) To delete the words “shall take note of” and substitute the words “declares a climate and biodiversity emergency and accepts and endorses”; and

(b) To insert the following after “29th March, 2019”: “and calls for the Citizens’ Assembly to examine how the State can improve its response to the issue of biodiversity loss.”

Fianna Fáil recognises that the climate crisis is the defining global challenge of our time. We are committed to ensuring that Ireland does its fair share in response to the emergency and we therefore strongly support this landmark, cross-party report of the Oireachtas joint committee, in which I was privileged to participate. I thank the Chair, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, for the way in which she managed the process in addition to all my colleagues on the committee. I also thank the secretariat for the work it put in during the six months of deliberations.

I will start by briefly discussing why we have this report. The joint committee was established to respond to the 17 recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly. It is important to be clear on why the Citizens' Assembly was called on to address this issue and on why the committee took such time to examine its proposals and put forward detailed recommendations. This House has heard on several occasions that global warming has to be limited to below 2°C. Unless we cut emissions significantly by 2030, the consequences will be dire. Like other parties, Fianna Fáil has tabled an amendment, which I have moved, that calls for the declaration of a climate emergency.

We must recognise, however, that declaring an emergency does not paint the full picture. This report is before us because the Government has knowingly and repeatedly failed to put in place a proper climate strategy and to implement policies that would see Ireland's pollution emissions reduce. As a result, Ireland will not meet its EU 2020 climate and renewables targets. We are on track to miss our 2020 target by an abysmal 95% and our 2030 commitments are already at risk. Compliance costs to try to close the gap are likely to be in the hundreds of millions. Ireland is now heralded as the worst performing country in Europe for action on climate change. It is the Irish public who will suffer most from the significant environmental, economic and health impacts arising from a failure to decarbonise.

Notwithstanding that appalling record, I notice that in one of the Taoiseach's many communications on Twitter he is today heralding the fact that there has been some reductions as a result of the lack of use of the plant at Moneypoint as if this is something to be celebrated. It is anything but. It is a full recognition of our failures so far. To be clear, the recommendations in the joint committee's report are absolutely necessary not only because we have a global climate crisis, but because we have a climate action crisis here in Ireland. The State is very far from being a leader; it is on life support. This committee has done its duty, however, and come forward with necessary actions which this Government must adopt in full.

Fianna Fáil does not believe that the State's response to the climate crisis can ever be treated as purely a technical, academic exercise. Social justice must be at the core of climate action. The report has rightly focused on the need for a just transition and for those most exposed and most in need of assistance to be put first. The social consequences of climate action should be tackled first and not treated as an afterthought. It is for this reason that Fianna Fáil was particularly strong on the impacts of a carbon tax increase and demanded that the most vulnerable be protected first, with revenues ring-fenced and used to support those not in a position to transition immediately from fossil fuels.

Fianna Fáil's priority was that we would not have the sort of vague promises and window dressing that has been a hallmark of this Government's response to climate change. We have witnessed unprecedented student protest for concentrated and commensurate action. We need an honest response. Fianna Fáil has therefore sought to ensure that committee recommendations are SMART - specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. The science demands measurable action, not living documents. It is vital that we are able to track progress across Departments and relevant public bodies. We must see these deadlines in the Minister's forthcoming plan. Having previously put forward legislation on both new targets and expanding the responsibilities of our Climate Change Advisory Council, Fianna Fáil has long been clear on the need for a clear course of action, which is a legally binding objective in line with the Paris agreement. I very much welcome the recommendation that we follow the example of the UK and put a commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 in legislation together with the new renewables target and a disciplined budgeting approach.

Fianna Fáil also focused on practical measures which would see immediate benefits for citizens and business. This means much greater investment in retrofitting and solar for more energy efficient homes, making community energy schemes and benefits mandatory for renewable projects, new incentives including CAP measures to help farmers fight climate change at farm level, the establishment of an independent just transition task force to make sure we decarbonise in a way that is fair to the workers and communities most affected and new supports to encourage the roll-out of electric cars and buses and greater participation in cycling.

At international level, the Government must ensure that Ireland supports rather than hinders greater EU ambition but we are hearing the opposite is the case. It has been widely reported today that Ireland has refused to join with other progressive member states in pushing for greater EU climate ambition at today's summit on the future of Europe in Romania.

I also want to highlight the second part of Fianna Fáil's amendment which calls for both a climate and biodiversity emergency to be declared and for biodiversity loss to be examined by the Citizens' Assembly. It is unfortunate that we do not have the opportunity to discuss fully the extremely grave warnings published this week in a global assessment report on devastation of species and habitats. In short, biodiversity loss is an existential threat that is fundamentally linked to the climate crisis and Ireland's response is similarly lacking. The current national biodiversity action plan goes nowhere near far enough. When it comes to conserving our biodiversity and responding to the global assessment report, the existential approach of the Government on climate action must not be repeated. A co-ordinated strategy which integrates biodiversity objectives into policy decisions is needed across all relevant Departments and public bodies. The Government must ensure that environmental laws are enforced and align policy implementation and planning with necessary progress on the sustainable development goals. We also need significantly increased investment in habitat restoration and improved public engagement on the climate and biodiversity crises. The Government should urgently progress measures in the committee report which relate to the protection of our forests, peatlands and soils. Now that we have completed the examination of the Citizens' Assembly's conclusions on the climate crisis we should call for the State's response to biodiversity loss to be similarly integrated, as noted in the amendment.

All of the recommendations in this report must be reflected in the Minister's forthcoming plan, particularly those relating to biodiversity. These must feed into the existing national mitigation plan and necessary legislation on governance and accountability must be introduced before the summer break. The report is a welcome initial step which, if implemented, will allow Ireland to get back on track and bring to an end our laggardly response to climate change.

See this speech in context