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

I support the measures outlined in the Climate Action Plan 2023, which was published last month. The plan lists more than 180 actions and many sub-actions that must be taken if we are to meet our climate change targets. We have already seen this year stark evidence of climate change throughout the world. California has experienced devastating storms and floods, while northern Europe has experienced some of the highest January temperatures on record. Who knows what El Niño and climate change will bring for the rest of 2023? The scientific evidence is indisputable and record temperatures, wildfires, floods and droughts are occurring much more frequently. Global warming is the greatest global challenge we face today. The plan contains challenging targets and will involve real change in the way we live. These real changes will be in respect of electricity, industry, enterprise, housing, heating, transport and waste management.

Many of the changes will improve our health and our quality of life. We will switch to renewables, offshore wind energy and solar and decrease our reliance on imported fossil fuels. There will be a big switch to public transport, cycling and walking and a reduction in road space for the private car, including the one in three private cars that will be electric. Our retrofitted homes and businesses will be much warmer, family farms will be more diversified and will gain new income streams or enhanced landscapes, and biodiversity will boost our tourism product. All of this is worth making the necessary sacrifices to our current daily routines.

The plan is ambitious but like so many other areas of Government policy, delivery and implementation are crucial. It is a disappointment that even the smallest measure brought before this House for approval to tackle climate change can be fiercely opposed. The opposition to the proposal to ban the sale of turf is a prime example. When it comes to Sinn Féin, it becomes all populist and will not provide leadership on the issue. Its opposition to carbon taxes, even before the current energy crisis, demonstrates this. To implement this plan, we need buy-in from people. We need ongoing citizen engagement but it cannot just be left to the citizen. The corporate sector globally also has a major role to play, as well as Government and State agencies and local authorities. I welcome the agreement reached at the UN COP15 summit on biodiversity in Canada last month, which the Minister of State attended. The agreement is indeed very significant. The implementation of our climate action plan will clearly demonstrate that Ireland is doing its bit with regard to climate change and global warming, in association with the EU and the Green Deal outlined by that organisation.

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