Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

COP28 has highlighted the level of resistance from oil and gas and companies and countries closely tied to oil and gas. There is an inherent resistance to a reduction in use of fossil fuels globally. We are seeing the scale of the battle we face in order to address that. We have to continue that fight in terms of international discussion. At home we need to ramp up efforts to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, including oil, gas, diesel and so on.

We find in this House that it is easier to talk of things like floating offshore wind because it is out in the sea and will not impact anyone, but most of the solution at the moment is being provided by onshore wind. We cannot forget about that technology. One third of our electricity comes from onshore wind; it was two thirds in July. We need to develop a system. An Bord Pleanála has in the past 12 months not granted planning permission for a single onshore wind farm. That needs to change if we are serious about renewable energy.

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