Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

This Bill sets the stage for the future. The future is all those people who were out on the streets, the students in 2019, and all the NGOs that have been campaigning for a robust climate action Bill over recent years. We had hoped to get it from the Green Party but I am afraid that tonight, we did not get it in this Bill. The initial Bill was very weak. The committee did great work on the pre-legislative scrutiny, from which we have two pieces of wording. On climate justice, it is stated:

‘climate justice’ means the requirement that decisions and actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the effects of climate change shall, in so far as it is practicable to do so, safeguard the rights of the most vulnerable persons and endeavour to share the burdens and benefits arising from climate change

The wording on "just transition" states:

the requirement for a just transition to a climate neutral economy which endeavours, in so far as is practicable, to—

(i) maximise employment opportunities, and

(ii) support persons and communities that may be negatively affected by the transition.

It is not good enough. The Minister mentioned that he could not put a stronger just transition definition into the Bill. However, we know that has been done in other jurisdictions in relation to a defined and clear just transition definition. That is what is required in this Bill. I appeal to the Minister, at this late stage, to do that, to sit down with other parties and to work out that just transition wording.

The justification for the Green Party entering the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Government was to ensure it got a robust climate action Bill, but I am afraid this Bill falls far short of what is required. Put simply, climate justice means that those individuals, corporations and states that contribute most to climate change must contribute most to its solution. Some of the world's poorest people, who are affected by drought, flooding and the loss of land to desert, not at some time in the future but today, have contributed hardly anything to climate change. We have seen advertisements on TV about deserts and societies that had previously been able to sow seeds and cultivate their land. The land is desert now. This is happening now.

In 2015, Lucas Chancel and Thomas Piketty calculated that the top 10% of emitters worldwide contributed approximately 45% of global emissions annually, while the bottom 50% contributed approximately 13%. Accordingly, the first principle of climate justice is that the richest individuals and societies, those that contribute most to global warming, must pay to protect poorer individuals and societies from its negative effects and must also play the biggest part in halting and reversing those effects.

There have been points made about carbon taxes. Climate justice must also apply to carbon taxes. Carbon tax is one of the most commonly proposed means of lowering emissions but it is controversial because it is regressive, meaning that those with less wealth and income end up paying a greater proportion of their income and wealth than those with more. This is the situation with Ireland's current carbon tax regime, which involves a simple tax on fuel, oil, natural gas, kerosene, marked gas oil, liquid petroleum gas and solid fuels. The Bill should include progressivity in carbon taxes as a guiding principle of climate action. There is a need for all carbon taxes to be progressive, that is, for the proportion of an individual's income or wealth paid in tax to increase with increasing income and wealth and for the revenue from such taxes to be solely spent on measures to further climate justice, including a just transition.

The question of a just transition for those who could lose their jobs, such as those in Bord na Móna and the ESB, is a major weakness in the Bill. There must be strong income supports and retraining, alongside investment in sustainable green industry in the areas most affected. A just transition is best achieved through the solidarity economy, meaning through initiatives controlled and owned by local communities. For example, a body of research shows that a community is much more supportive of renewable energy production if it has a stake in it. The Western Development Commission has shown that community-owned energy initiatives have greater economic multiplier effects than externally-owned projects.

One of the final points I will make is that climate justice demands that the Bill sets much more ambitious goals. The global target for net greenhouse gas emissions is that they reach net zero by 2050. However, the living standards of the poorest people, who are least responsible for climate change, need to rise to acceptable levels. That means the poorest countries should be allowed to increase their emissions for some time after the richest nations. They should not be expected to reach net zero emissions until after 2050. To achieve the global goal, countries such as Ireland need to reach net zero emissions long before 2050.

I have been involved in #FixTheBill, which is an umbrella movement for a large group of NGOs and environmentalists that have sent an email to all Deputies on climate justice, a just transition, relevant bodies, accountability, and overall ambition. This group is not happy with this Bill and it wants to see a just transition and climate change strengthen to the point where they will have an impact on all communities, on agriculture, in rural and urban areas and in factories and workplaces all over the country. Unless we have a strong just transition definition in this Bill, the Minister will not bring those communities with him. This is a warning to him. He will not bring them with him. There is a need to involve the trade unions in this as well because they have called for a strong just transition based on the model in Scotland.

See this speech in context