Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Taoiseach mentioned yesterday's chilling report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, because it leaves us no room for doubt that time is running out to save our planet and ensure the future of humanity. The Labour Party and I believe that the Government response to the climate emergency has unfortunately been characterised by too many delays, an inadequacy of governance and a failure to address the clear interconnection between the climate crisis, the energy security crisis, which has been exacerbated by the horrific war in Ukraine, and the cost of living crisis that is biting so deep into so many households across our communities.

At the weekend, we heard very worrying news regarding emissions here. The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, confirmed the extent to which our emissions are heading in the wrong direction and the extent to which we are seeing delays in ensuring that we are moving to meet our emissions reduction targets. We learned that emissions from electricity alone rose by 21% last year. The EPA branded this as disappointing, which is patently an understatement because this is clearly not the direction of travel in which we so urgently need to be going.

Last week, I raised with the Taoiseach the Labour Party's concerns about Ireland's over-reliance on imported gas - another sign of moving in the wrong direction - which will only worsen if we proceed to build eight new gas-fired electricity plants by 2024, particularly when we have no clarity as to from where the gas to power them will come. What we need to see urgently are dramatic reductions in fossil fuel reliance, rapid increases in our renewable capacity and usage and rapid moves to electrification of heat, transport and other sectors, along with drastic action on retrofitting and active travel infrastructure and a national green hydrogen strategy, for which I have been calling for some time. If we do not take these urgent actions, we know from the IPCC that the consequences will be catastrophic, we will fail to keep global temperatures below 1.5°C and that the chance to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis will be lost. This is an immediate and critical issue for us in Ireland. As I have said, all we have seen is delays and an inadequacy in governance.

Will the Taoiseach accept that we have a problem with rising emissions and that emissions are going in the wrong direction? Will he confirm the establishment immediately of a just transition commission to manage our transition to a decarbonised future, as the Just Transition Alliance has sought, and to ensure that our transition to decarbonisation is carried out in a fair and just way that will not adversely impact on those who are most severely affected by the cost-of-living crisis, the energy security crisis and the enormous hikes we have seen in energy bills for so many people in recent weeks? I am looking for an answer on the just transition commission in particular, but I also want to know where the gas for the eight new power plants that are projected to be built will come from.

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