Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Last week's IPCC was described by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. António Guterres, as a code red for humanity and a death knell for coal and fossil fuels. The report showed we are now on course to pass the 1.5°C marker in a matter of years, if not decades. If the 1.5°C target is to be met, carbon dioxide emissions will need to be cut by two thirds in the next 12 years.

We were bemused to see headlines, after the publication of the report, stating the situation is grim but that there are solutions available. The issue is not a lack of solutions to the crisis we face. We have known for years that the situation is grim and that we have options; the issue is the absence of political will to take radical action on climate – the political will to make decisions that will be difficult but that will help us meet the challenge we face. That challenge does not just lie ahead; we are in the midst of it.

I would have hoped the IPCC report would serve as a final warning for the Government so it will get its head out of the sand on climate change. It is outrageous but not at all surprising that we are here today discussing the Government trying to buy its way out of having to make real, meaningful change. That is exactly what this agreement is. It is the Government spending €2.9 million to buy its way out of a problem. That is €2.9 million that could have gone towards helping our farmers change the way they use their land, public transport initiatives such as the Labour Party's €9 climate ticket and clean travel infrastructure, and investment in cleaner energy. Instead, it is going towards getting this Government out of Dodge for missing its own targets. Time and again, the Government has proven that it has not given the climate crisis the attention it warrants. You would be fooled into thinking it was by its rhetoric. It is a Government that is strong on rhetoric but weak on delivery. There is no doubt that the climate action plan of 2023 is an ambitious document and among the most ambitious in the world. That is all well and good, but, without the political will to meet that ambition, the climate action plan amounts to nothing but lip service and rhetoric.

This proposal is just another indication that the Government lacks the political will and is lacking in its delivery. Climate action cannot be about ambitions alone; it must also be about outcomes. The outcomes so far have been dismal. It would appear that elements of this Government have simply given up on reaching their targets. We know, thanks to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act, that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, for example, has conceded it will not meet its methane emissions reduction targets. We also know from reports that the ambition contained in the 2019 climate action plan to tighten scrutiny regarding pension fund investment in fuels appears to be quietly rolled back by the Department of Social Protection. Indeed, there is no such ambition included in more recent climate action plans.

The Taoiseach has recently admitted Ireland is a climate laggard. We are among the highest emitters in Europe, 60% above the EU average. We are now at a point where, after three years of this Government, our emissions are higher than before Covid. The Government has blamed that on the reopening of our economy but that entirely misses the point. If anything, the reopening of our economy in a post-Covid world presented an opportunity to do things differently. The Government has failed to grasp that opportunity. We in the Labour Party have offered a way to radically transform the way we do transport – for example, by proposing our €9-per-month climate ticket for unlimited access to all public transport. This would take around 23,000 cars off our roads and have a genuine and meaningful impact on reducing our emissions. Not only has the Government failed to take the proposal on board but the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications has dismissed making public transport more accessible, saying it would lead to more unnecessary journeys. That is irresponsible to the point that it is offensive.

The IPCC report paints a bleak picture but the fact of the matter is that the situation in which we now find ourselves is even bleaker. When I was reading the minutes of the negotiations between different governments on the language of the report, a point that stood out was the pervasive influence of petrol states, which sought to have their interests protected to the greatest extent possible. If we are serious about tackling climate change globally, we need to stand up to these petrol states and their lobbyists. The influence they had on the proceedings at COP27 made headlines. Now they have got their paws on this report.

We previously called for Ireland to be a leading green state at the vanguard of climate action. I reiterate that call now but we need to get our own house in order if we are to achieve the objective. The bottom line is this, however: Ireland will never be a leading green state under this Government because it simply refuses to give the climate crisis the attention it warrants and to deliver where necessary. The proposal before us today amounts to nothing more than the Government trying to buy its way out of a problem and shirk its responsibilities. When it comes to climate action, it is all bark and no bite.

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