Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

The UN environmental programme was very clear that the bare minimum emissions reduction that we need to avoid catastrophic climate change is 7.6% a year. In reality, as a developed country, Ireland should be aiming for much more than that. The proposed programme for Government is full of fluff on climate change but it is empty of binding commitments to tackle this crisis in the next five years. As Extinction Rebellion said earlier today, it is simply not good enough and it should be rejected.

On the core issue of reducing emissions, the deal actually contains no commitments in terms of reductions in the lifetime of the Government for which it is a programme. Instead, there is a commitment to an average 7% reduction over the course of the next decade. However, in terms of what will happen in the next five years, that is, the period of office of the new Government, the Taoiseach yesterday made it clear that not much will change. Instead, he said most of the reductions will happen in the second five-year term. Therefore, the Greens are being asked to sign up to five years of inaction and austerity on the premise that the next Government will tackle climate change. That is a bad deal for the planet, it is a bad deal for workers and it is a deal which, hopefully, grassroots Greens will reject.

The proposed programme for Government lets agribusiness, the number one sector responsible for emissions in Ireland, completely off the hook. The devil is in the detail in the sentence on recognising the "special ... role of agriculture and the distinct characteristics of biogenic methane". The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine's inability to explain the sentence, never mind the science behind it, on RTÉ radio this morning clearly shows that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are using this as a means to create a carveout for agribusiness. It potentially means no reductions whatsoever targeted at the number one emitting sector in Ireland. The truth is that methane is methane. Its special role is to be a particularly damaging greenhouse gas. It does not stay in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide but it traps heat at 84 times the rate of carbon dioxide. To quote Professor John Sweeney: "There is unlikely to be any scenario whereby - without an absolute reduction in Irish methane emissions - the end product will be compatible with the 7% emissions reductions target."

The proposed programme for Government is a trap being laid for the Greens and it should be rejected by their grassroots membership. It is an attempt by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to lure the Greens into propping up their rule for another five years, with empty promises that they really will change this time and that, in the five years after the Government is finished, they will get to the business of serious climate action. Grassroots Greens and others should read the deal for themselves. There are 127 reviews promised, there are 68 things to be examined and they pledge to consider 44 promises and establish 12 commissions. These are classic tactics from the political establishment to kick the can down the road and to achieve the pretence of doing something by setting up more talking shops.

The science is clear that now is the time for action on climate change. Grassroots Green Party members are being patronised by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and many political commentators. They are being told to tone down their expectations on climate action. We have heard all of this before. When it came to repeal, the political establishment and the media told pro-choice activists that we were being too radical in calling for free, safe and legal abortion in Ireland. We were told to compromise and water down our principles. We refused, we built a movement and we won as a result. I encourage the grassroots Green Party members not to be bullied or conned and to follow the science and face the truth. The truth is that this is a bad deal that should be rejected. There is an alternative based on joining with the left to build social movements for climate justice, housing justice and social justice, and in doing so to win victories today and prepare the way for a left government with an eco-socialist programme in the future.

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