Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill today. Climate action is about us all being good custodians and leaving the planet in a healthy condition for future generations. It is about respecting and protecting nature but above all it is about a just and fair transition. I recently met with a group of climate activists from my own County Wexford in a Zoom call and their focus and drive was very clear to see. I hope we will see the same determination from us all as we deal with the threat of global warming and climate change.

The core principle of any climate action must be a just transition, which is a weak link in this Bill. We are asking people to change the traditional way we live, but this must be done in a respectful, fair and equal manner. The just transition to carbon neutrality is one of the most challenging issues for rural farmers and coastal areas such as Wexford. With the development of offshore farms, the Government must include social contract clauses in any development of offshore wind or solar panel farms and a community wealth-building approach should be taken. Such an approach would mean wind farms would not only provide greener energy but would do so in a way that benefits the communities not in a piecemeal way but rather in a genuine social and monetary way through the supply of local materials and labour.

This Bill introduces a requirement for each local authority to prepare a climate action plan which will include mitigation and adaptation measures. Mitigation means how emissions will be reduced. Adaptation includes things like flood defences. This will no doubt strike a nerve with the people of Enniscorthy, my own town, who have endured extreme hardship through floods. Serious floods have occurred six times, including in 2000, 2015 and 2020. The flooding is a disincentive to the growth of the town, further crippling businesses, and homeowners are already under severe pressure from the prospect of another wet winter. It is time to deliver this flood defence scheme now.

People lose confidence when promises are not delivered on. This cannot happen to the climate action plans which will be developed following this Bill. Climate action means solid plans on rural transport, fuel poverty, farming and fishing, to name but a few. Scientists are saying we have less than the ten-year span to get things right. I trust and hope the Government will work with all Members of this House to treat our farming, fishing and rural communities with respect and develop fair policies that will have at their core a fair and just transition for all of our sakes.

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