Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wonder if it is a sign of positive things to come that the Dáil is having two debates on biodiversity in one week, one on the extinction of species and the other on the related topic of ecosystems. We have to take climate change seriously as otherwise the consequences will be dire. While reflecting on what I would say today, I was reminded of a conference I attended in April 2013, which was organised by the Mary Robinson Foundation, Irish Aid, the World Food Programme and other organisations. People came from all over the world, including Nepal, the Caribbean, Mongolia, the Arctic, South America, Africa and Bangladesh, to relate their experience of the impact of climate change on their communities and way of life. We heard the experiences of farmers, fishers and herders and everyone told the same story of great resilience in the face of the challenges arising from climate change. The conference was entitled, Hunger, Nutrition, Climate Justice, and the point was that all three are related. Hunger and nutrition are tied in with climate. The issue is not only climate change but also climate justice. The previous Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, committed to the idea of climate justice.

We are making some progress, with Deputy Thomas Pringle's Bill on fossil fuels divestment and we have seen the green wave in European and local elections, on which I congratulate the Green Party. I also acknowledge the work of the various non-governmental organisations, NGOs. I make particular mention of a book titled, Climate Generation: Awakening to Our Children’s Future, written by Lorna Gold of Trócaire. It should be required reading for everyone, that is, if we want a future for today's children, never mind their children. The book gets across in a very practical, readable and accessible manner the ways in which climate change is the greatest challenge for our generation. The easy part is voting green. The difficult part is putting into practice the principles and theories that will make a difference and bring about climate justice. Ms Gold traces her journey in coming to an understanding of what climate change really means and the danger that she, as a mother trying to protect her children and the world in which we live, faces. The book is positive in that it shows that we can make a difference. I encourage people to read it.

Biodiversity concerns the variety and variability of life on earth and includes marine biodiversity. However, biodiversity is not distributed equitably or evenly on earth. In the previous debate on the extinction of species, it was scary to realise the extent of the extinction and the rapid environmental changes that cause these mass extinctions. The report we are discussing is very clear and I will refer to parts of it which stuck with me. Nature, it states, is essential for human existence and good quality of life but most of nature's contributions to people are not fully replaceable and some are irreplaceable. Another key message that struck me was that nature across most of the globe has now been significantly altered by multiple human drivers and that it is human actions that threaten more species with global extinction now than ever before.

When we consider the human aspect, disasters occurred recently in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. We, in the developed world, are the humans in question. We are the drivers who are threatening the globe, not the humans in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe who are mainly peasant farmers and fishers and women of very limited means. What we are seeing are changes in land and sea use, the exploitation of organisms, pollution, consumption patterns and human population trends. We have statistics showing that humans are estimated to have caused an observed warming of approximately 1°C relative to pre-industrial levels and that average temperatures have been rising for the past 30 years. Indigenous peoples and local communities in many parts of the world are suffering. Ironically, as the report tells us, some climate change mitigation programmes have had negative impacts on these indigenous peoples and local communities who are facing ongoing deforestation, the loss of wetlands, mining, an increase in unsustainable agriculture, pollution and water insecurity. Some of these developments are being driven by multinational companies which do not even pay tax in the countries in which they are operating.

What we, in the developed world, are doing, allowing to be done and turning a blind eye to is impacting on countries in the developing world, the global south. These are the countries that we support through Irish Aid. "Policy coherence" is the phrase that should be at the heart of what we are discussing. Ireland played a dominant role in securing agreement on the sustainable development goals, SDGs. One can see how dependent these goals are on climate justice, with one specifically related to climate action. Ireland is not leading by example. Our recently launched policy for international development, A Better World: Ireland’s policy for international development, is very firm that the SDGs are at the heart of our approach to international development and climate action is a focus in the document. We are making a difference in health, education and reducing hunger and poverty. The Overseas Development Institute stated in 2018 that Ireland is the most efficient donor in targeting extreme poverty.

A Better World commits Ireland to new initiatives, scaling up our funding on climate action and exploring innovative approaches to climate finance, risk insurance and support for small islands developing states, especially those that are most vulnerable. We know that some of these islands are faced with being wiped out in a number of years. The policy document also features a commitment to a new oceans funding initiative to explore the potential of the blue economy. We have to match these initiatives with initiatives in Ireland. It sometimes strikes me that we the Oireachtas is not doing enough, even on simple matters such as waste disposal. For example, we have several bins for separated waste but I guarantee that if we looked in them now, we would find the same items in all three bins. We are not leading by example and we could be doing far more.

The burden of climate change has not been distributed proportionately. I was struck by a statistic at the recent Dóchas conference showing that it would take a Ugandan farmer 198 years to produce the annual emissions of one New Yorker. That speaks clearly to the lack of proportionality involved in this.

It is clear from this global assessment report and its research findings that they must be the driver, when it comes to climate, the environment and agriculture in Ireland. We are already facing fines because we are not reaching targets, which is a total waste of money that could be used in better ways to meet the targets.

The greater cost, however, is the damage we are allowing to continue by not matching our words with actions. This means we must make hard and difficult choices and decisions. People will be upset, particularly vested interests. People will be working in the areas affected, which is why forward planning will be needed. When we look at the procedures, policies and plans we have for health and safety in many areas, for example, fire safety and bettering our own health, we have to bring the same urgency to this issue. This is about survival. An Taisce states that the needs of the many must outweigh the economic interests of the few.

The challenge is to achieve the sustainable development goals. We only have ten or 11 years to do this. The current trends in biodiversity and ecosystems will directly impact on some 80% of the targets relating to poverty, hunger, health and water. The answer is not to increase overseas development aid, ODA, because we are not taking climate change seriously. We must look at ODA and climate change together. The answer is to do what is right and necessary now. It is to adopt the attitude of many indigenous peoples, including Native Americans, and think seven generations ahead when we are making decisions.

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