Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that the Government is accepting this motion in principle. I would like to hear a reply from the Minister of State on whether the Government will amend the Fossil Fuel (Amendment) Act 2018 in a manner that will widen its reach so it is applicable to all funds within the ISIF by means of the removal of the exclusionary clause within section 49A(1) regarding financial derivatives and instruments, exchange traded funds or hedge funds. That is an important part of this motion and I want clarification on that point from the Minister of State, if possible.

I disagree with the Minister of State. The COP28 summit disintegrated into farce. It is clear that the world's response to climate breakdown has so far involved more fossil fuel executives than common sense. We are facing an existential crisis while world leaders shake hands with the people who have made billions from destroying our planet.

The Minister of State made the point that Ireland has given €25 million to the loss and damage fund but that contribution was taken from moneys already allocated to climate aid. According to the IMF, fossil fuel companies globally received $7 trillion in subsidies and state aid in 2022 alone. We are not fighting climate change; we are funding it.

The deal agreed today is a failure to tackle the real issues behind climate change, one of which is an economic model that is wedded to fossil fuels and run, top to bottom, by those with a vested interest in squeezing as much profit out of our carbon-based economy as they can, no matter the cost. Ms Anne Rasmussen, head negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States, summed it up when she said:

We have made an incremental advancement over business as usual when what we really needed is an exponential step change in our actions and support.

Weak language on contributing to a transition from fossil fuels will not end climate breakdown. What we have seen in recent days is the surrender of our hopes of achieving the 1.5°C limit by 2030 to billionaires and giant fossil fuel companies. It has shown one thing more than anything else, which is that the people with the real power on this planet are the same people who are destroying it. This is a climate crisis but more than that, it is a crisis of capitalism. We are eating ourselves as our economic system demands more growth and profit in the face of a planet that has already reached its limits. Capitalism cannot function without destroying the planet and we cannot save the planet with capitalism.

This motion on the amendment of the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018 is a good step towards a goal. Our State's investment should not be driven by profit but by what is good for our people and our planet. Investing in fossil fuels when they cause 75% of greenhouse gas emissions is not good for anyone. We must move our State's function away from engaging in a market that is destroying the planet and shift the focus from profit to sustainability and development. If initiatives such as COP28 cannot move fast enough, we must move faster. Measures such as this motion help to end the financing of the use and extraction of fossil fuels. We need to take such steps now to ensure the future of the planet. Why are we putting resources into climate mitigation only to be financing the cause of climate breakdown at the same time? This motion tightens the loopholes in investment, most notably on derivatives, to ensure we are not doing that.

We need an immediate commitment to the phasing out of fossil fuels with concrete plans for how to do it. UN Secretary General António Guterres said last week that the 1.5°C limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels - not reduce or abate the use of fossil fuels, but phase out their use over a clear timeframe aligned with the 1.5°C limit. We need to support the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, which will provide the roadmap needed to manage an equitable transition from fossil fuels to clean and abundant renewable energy. This is a global crisis and we need a global response. A treaty would provide that in the most fair and equitable way. The Government should be leading on this issue and not running from it.

This is a crisis, but it is also a chance to build a better society that looks after all and a humane economy that respects the planet's boundaries and the needs of every person. We need climate justice to ensure we build a world which respects the boundaries of the planet and the need to have a decent standard of living for all. We must also ensure that those who have made billions from destroying the planet pay to save it.

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