Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The war in Ukraine has brought home the risks of dependence on volatile fossil fuels. The floods in Pakistan, the drought in the Horn of Africa, and European heatwaves and flash floods, have given us a glimpse of what the future looks like if we do not make significant progress. The Government must take bold action, reduce energy poverty and wean the country off fossil fuels and it must be a just transition.

I am concerned about the recent rise in the cost of charging electric vehicles. If we do not get a handle on this it will threaten electrical car sales where they are only beginning to grow steadily. While electric cars are not the only answer, we must ensure that they remain an affordable option. The scientists who produced the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, report has said that we need deep and immediate cuts in polluting emissions. In the words of the UN Secretary-General, investing in a new fossil fuel infrastructure is moral and economic madness. President von der Leyen, who will address the Joint Houses of the Oireachtas, has said that COP27 has confirmed that the world will not backtrack on the Paris Agreement and that it is an important step towards climate justice. We need a little less climate conversation and a great deal more climate action. While COP27 agreed international action, we need a better response here at home to ensure we play our part.

It is good that we finally have sectoral emissions ceilings, even if they do not yet match the national ceiling. Now we have to deliver the measures which will ensure we live within the carbon budget.

At COP26 in Glasgow, Ireland became a founding member of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance led by Denmark and Costa Rica and my colleague Chris MacManus, MEP, was delighted to vote for the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty last month. We need more actions like this.

Earlier this year I attended a briefing in the audiovisual room on the joint recommendations from 42 organisations on how to tackle energy poverty and energy pollution at the same time. Forty-two groups as diverse as Friends of the Earth, Pavee Point, Age Action, Oxfam and everywhere in between, were there.

I will finish with this point. We have the roadmap and we know what needs to be done. In the words of Greta Thunberg, less "blah, blah blah" and more action.

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