Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to have an opportunity to speak on this important Bill. While the most pressing and immediate issues facing our society are the Covid-19 crisis and then beyond that the issues of housing, health, childcare and employment, it is fair to say that climate change and tackling the biodiversity crisis are the greatest challenges of our generation. That is not just in this jurisdiction but right around the globe.

Before I talk on the Bill, I want to commend all of those environmental activists who, over decades, have kept this issue to the fore of the public and political agenda. I pay special tribute to the young people who organised, in huge numbers, the Fridays for Future demonstrations last year and previously. As one of many Deputies who attended those demonstrations, one could not but be struck by the energy, enthusiasm and clear determination of those young people to ensure that those of us entrusted with passing legislation and introducing policy in this House do the right thing, not just for ourselves but for them and their futures, the future of the planet and the future of our environment.

The legislation before us is important because, while it does not say how our society should move towards carbon neutrality and tackle the biodiversity crisis, it sets clear and legally binding obligations that future Governments must meet. That is what has been missing from the framework in recent years. Due to inaction by Governments for decades, we are laggards when it comes to meeting the challenge of climate change and as a result; we have a far larger mountain to climb than we would have otherwise had if previous Governments had acted appropriately.

I also want to pay tribute to the Committee on Climate Action.

When the Minister, Deputy Ryan, first published this Bill, it was incredibly weak. In fact, at that stage the Minister wanted to fast-track the legislation and have it done and dusted by the end of last year. Thankfully, because of the environmental movement on the outside and the hard work of many members of the committee, we have much better legislation in front of us. It is not perfect and it needs change and I hope the Government will continue to listen to people inside and outside the Houses of the Oireachtas to ensure that when the Bill is finally passed that it is the best possible legislation to help this and future Governments do the right thing by the people of this jurisdiction as we rise to the challenges ahead.

I want to outline a number of key concerns about the legislation and then make a number of more general comments relevant to my portfolio of housing and planning if I have the time. I thank Deputy Cowen for what was a very honest and thought-provoking comment on an issue I wanted to raise, which is that of just transition. There are many challenges in moving towards a carbon-neutral economy and it is absolutely central that those who are most responsible for carbon emissions pay that price. Of course, they are not working people. They are not people who are struggling to pay bills to keep their children in school and ensure that when somebody is sick or has an emergency there is enough money in the credit union to meet those challenges. The people who are primarily responsible for carbon emissions are large industries or governments and those who are much more wealthy in our society. Therefore, if we are to move towards a carbon-neutral economy it has to be done in a way that ensures those most able to pay and those most responsible for those carbon emissions pay their fair share, and that the burden of the transition is not heaped on working people, particularly those working people least able to pay and most negatively affected by some of those challenges.

Listening carefully to Deputy Cowen, not only confirms the concerns of many of us in opposition that the previous Government and this Government did not and have not adequately put in place the supports and mechanisms to ensure a just transition but also that the Government is not even engaging with its own backbenchers who are clearly and legitimately raising these issues. The biggest task for the climate committee and then the Oireachtas is to ensure that a just transition is placed at the very heart of the Bill. It is important to note that, for example, the legislation in Scotland has a chapter of principles detailing what a just transition looks like. The legislation before us has weak language and short text that has to be changed.

The next issue that has been raised, including by my colleague, Deputy Darren O'Rourke, our spokesperson on the matter, when he spoke last week, was the issue of interim targets. There is some confusion about this issue. The targets set are based on science and the Government has already signed up to them in a number of international and European agreements. What we need to ensure is that the Government meets the targets it is setting for itself. It would be completely unacceptable if the Government had weak language on interim targets to get itself off the hook and then on the other side of a general election, which, hopefully, produces a progressive government led by my party, the next government would have to pick up the slack for the failure to act of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party. Nobody is proposing to change targets, just to ensure the targets are met appropriately as we move from 2021 to 2030 and then to 2050.

The next issue is that of consultation. This cannot be done unless it is done in partnership with communities. Today we saw an appalling scene in another related matter central to tackling the biodiversity crisis. The Government shutdown scrutiny, consultation and debate with key representative organisations, including inshore fishermen and environmental non-governmental organisations, concerned about marine biodiversity. It would not create a platform for these organisations to raise their concerns regarding the marine planning framework. The fear, of course, is that the Government will plough ahead with large industrial-scale offshore wind energy while sacrificing marine biodiversity and hard-pressed inshore fishermen and their communities. This is not the way to advance the cause of climate change or to tackle the biodiversity crisis.

Much of the debate we have had in recent days has focused on very important issues, and my colleagues will deal with some of these. We also have to ensure that all other areas in the debate are adequately addressed. We need to change our planning code. We need to ensure that we repopulate our villages, towns and particularly our city centres, and end the bad practice of suburban sprawl and the car dependency that comes with it.

We need to make housing affordable. How can we ensure people are less dependent on cars, particularly in our cities, if they are forced to live far away from where they work, play and send their children to school? Housing affordability, particularly in our city centres, is vital. This is something on which the Government continues to fail. We need to ensure the infrastructure is there, including public transport, schools and crèches, so that people can genuinely live in the 15 minute city where they can walk from home to work and school and to play within that time.

We need to tackle the embedded carbon in our construction and building products. We need to embrace new technologies and new ways of developing our construction, particularly residential construction, so that we do not just take into account the energy usage of new homes which, of course, should all be A2 rated but also take into account all of the carbon that is involved in the building of these homes so they have the minimum impact on our environment.

This is an important Bill but it only sets the targets. It is up to the Government to determine how we then reach those targets. I am very concerned that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party will do what they have always done, which is to try to make ordinary working people pay for the mistakes and bad practices of governments and corporations. Let us have real climate change. Let us have real action on biodiversity. Let us do it in a way that is just and fair, with clear consultation and in partnership with communities the length and breadth of the country. If we do this we will meet these targets in a way that is good for our economy, society and environment, and in a way that is good, in particular, for those least able to pay the costs of the changes that will come down the tracks.

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