Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The EU renewable energy directive of 2009 set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy demands from renewable sources by 2020. Due to decades of inaction in this area, we are set to miss this target. The SEAI predicts that between 12.5% and 13.2% of our energy requirements will be met from renewable sources this year. There are many reasons for this failure but the actions of the previous Fine Gael-led Administration deserve particular criticism. We have proof positive today that its climate rhetoric was not matched by climate action, although we did not have to wait until today to find that out. Sinn Féin and other progressive voices have been beating that drum for some time.

This transaction is not just bad news for our environment and international climate obligations, it is also bad news for Irish taxpayers who are set to foot a bill of €50 million. To be clear, we have failed to meet reasonable and fair energy transition obligations. A reduction of in and around 1% year on year since we agreed to these targets was required but we could not even manage that. Statistical transfers for target compliance purposes is a convoluted way of saying we are here to agree to pay €50 million in fines for missing our renewable energy targets for 2020. To meet our binding obligations on paper, we now have to buy credits from Denmark and Estonia to make up for the State’s failings in this area. My colleague, Senator Lynn Boylan, put it well when she said that this is like modern-day indulgences. For €50 million, we get a piece of paper and absolution.

When we look at this from the perspective of opportunity cost, we might reasonably consider what could have been done with €50 million. How many homes could have been retrofitted? How many solar panels or heat pumps could we have installed? How many sustainable energy communities could we have supported? Those opportunities have now shifted to Denmark and Estonia.

It should also be noted that we are paying a higher premium to Estonia, at €15 per megawatt hour, than to Denmark, at €12.50 per megawatt hour. Estonia is getting a better return on its investment. With the EU and climate, the profit motive must always apply. These countries have committed to spending this money to further reduce their own emissions, which is welcome. Had we made different choices, we might have been in their position. Irish taxpayers are big losers in this and we are paying a high price but it is important to acknowledge that we are not the biggest losers. The biggest losers here are the poorest people on the planet, those who are living at the coalface of the climate crisis, and of course the planet itself and its flora and fauna. No amount of statistical transfers and economic wizardry or commodification of the climate crisis can distract from that.

If this is about money, then we have to agree that it is a complete waste of money. It is an indictment of Government policy and an even greater indictment of Government inaction. To add insult to injury, previous administrations have actively blocked solutions brought forward by Opposition parties in this area, including by my colleague, Deputy Stanley. His Microgeneration Support Scheme Bill 2017 would have allowed small-scale production of electricity through solar and wind energy production. It provided that excess electricity produced by small-scale microgenerators, whether households, farms, small businesses, local schools, community groups or the GAA, could be fed into the grid and that this would be paid for. In doing so, it would have provided for energy self-sufficiency and a small return for individuals. That was a win-win scenario but, instead, we are moving at snail’s pace. Deputies need not take my word on this as the issue has been well reported on Noteworthy.ieand by various groups.

We need a step change in approach. We also need to move away from the carbon credit approach and drive down our overall emissions in real and measurable terms.

Paying €50 million does not help our environment. Paying €50 million will not build more wind farms in the Irish Sea and increase the State's renewable energy capacity. This €50 million of taxpayers' money is lost today.

I conclude by encouraging a step change in the State's approach to offshore wind energy. In a parliamentary reply to me recently, the Minister stated that the State does not directly own or operate, or plan to own or operate, any such resources. We have massive offshore wind potential. It is imperative that it is not privatised - that it is not a case of moving from big oil to big wind or paying our way out of this crisis. We need to start taking our climate obligations seriously and match the rhetoric with action.

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