Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As we have heard, climate change is a stark reality for much of the world's population and it is happening much faster than scientists had predicted. This is evidenced by the many incidences of extreme weather events such as droughts, flooding and forest fires across the globe this year, which caused substantial loss of life and destruction on a massive scale. Many societies face an existential threat, as well as threats to global food supplies and security. That is why COP27 was so important.

The agreement reached in Sharm el-Sheikh was historic, albeit after prolonged negotiations. Ireland's objectives for these negotiations were the provision of funding for adaptation to climate change and the provision of finance for loss and damage for climate impacts. We have advocated for climate justice at the United Nations, including at the United Nations Security Council. As we know, agreement was reached on the establishment of a loss and damage fund. Developed countries have signed up to providing aid to the developing countries that are hardest hit by climate related disasters.

We can now be somewhat satisfied with the outcome of COP27. That said, as other speakers have pointed out, it was disappointing there was no further progress on achieving greater cuts to greenhouse gas emissions or on the ending of fossil fuel use. Limiting temperature increase to 1.5°C by 2050 remains the target. Work needs to commence as quickly as possible on setting up this fund and establishing how it will operate in practice. The Minister has said we need to broaden the contributor base by including financial institutions, aviation, shipping and the fossil fuel industry, and I fully agree with him on that.

As other speakers have done in this House, I too pay tribute to the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Ryan. By all accounts he was central to determining the EU's approach to these talks and was in the thick of the negotiations to ensure a final compromise was reached in Egypt. His cross-departmental team is also to be complimented and we should make no apology for the size of our COP27 delegation.

What can we do in Ireland? We need to stay the course with the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 and implement our climate action plan. We need to implement the necessary actions to achieve a 51% reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to set us on a path to reach net zero emissions by no later than 2050. Actions on agriculture, energy, industry, land use and waste must be taken. In this regard, it is disappointing to see how even the smallest of measures to tackle climate change are fiercely resisted in this House. All of us in this House need to show real leadership if we are to have any chance of saving our planet from oblivion.

I would also like to say a few words about flood defences. We must ramp up construction of flood defences to protect cities, towns and homes generally. Melting ice caps mean a rise in sea levels. As regards my constituency, Dublin City Council is preparing plans for a Clontarf promenade and flood alleviation project. This involves the seafront from the wooden bridge at Dollymount up to the Alfie Byrne Road. Sandbags have been put in position at this location since 2014. The provision of these sandbags is quite costly and they are unsightly as well. The appointment of consultants for stage 1 has not yet happened. Comprehensive consultations will have to be organised with the local community on this scheme. Dublin City Council and the OPW will need to get a move on in this regard. I hope there will be no unnecessary delay in the construction of this flood defence scheme.

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