Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleagues in the Independent group for bringing forward this motion. We in the Labour Party are happy to support it. It is a sensible motion. It is not asking for any great new interventions. It simply asks that we close the loopholes contained in existing legislation. The Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018 is good piece of legislation, at least insofar as its intentions go. Indeed, as this motion acknowledges in its first line the "Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018 is something that Ireland should remain proud of in its capacity of setting a global standard." I recall Fianna Fáil's enthusiastic support of Deputy Pringle's Bill at the time. With the benefit of hindsight, however, it is evident that it does require some strengthening. Loopholes have emerged. That is fair enough because they often do. Problems arise when such loopholes undermine the original intent of the legislation and we do nothing about it.

For all the positive interventions contained in the Act such as the central aim ISIF divesting from fossil fuel companies it has not been able to live up to its full potential due to the working of the text. ISIF remains too much invested in what one might call fossil fuel adjacent companies and other financial instruments that perpetuate and benefit from fossil fuel extraction and use. Yes, while ISIF may be divesting from the direct bankrolling of fossil fuel companies it is still very much invested in the industry at large. Indirect investment is still investment. The exploitation of these loopholes that exist is not in the spirit of the 2018 Act. The Government has the opportunity to change that and it should.

We are all conscious that we are having this debate as the COP summit rumbles on and comes to a conclusion. We will probably have statements when we return from recess but this plays into the broader picture of the topic of this motion. Perhaps the House will indulge me for a few moments. The proceedings at COP in recent days have been utterly shameful and farcical. To start with it is utterly ludicrous that the summit would be held in a petrostate, the economy of which is almost entirely reliant on fossil fuel exports. Next year it will be the same again with another petrostate host. It is a joke. I seriously worry about COP as a vehicle for progress after witnessing what has gone on over the past number of years, and especially this year. It was obvious that last year's agreement had the fingerprints of the petrostates all over it with no fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty and no advancement of ambition on the 1.5°C target. This year, we have handed them the pen. Clearly, the initial draft agreement presented was purposely unacceptable so that the agreement we ended up with is slightly more palatable but watered down nonetheless. Let us be clear: this was an act of sabotage on the part of oil barons and petrostates. The self-interest is there for all to see. They are barely even trying to hide it. They can do all the greenwashing they want but when it comes to brass tacks they are risking our future, our planet's future and our children's future to protect their coffers. To his credit, the Minister, Deputy Ryan, was right to say that the EU should walk away if the initial draft text was not dramatically improved. I would not say it has been dramatically improved but at least there is some form of a commitment to transitioning away from fossil fuels.

Tackling climate change is an active international and intergenerational solidarity. The COP summit is the only multilateral forum we have to do it. It is vital that we make the process work. Regrettably, that process appears to have been captured by petrostates and those who benefit from continuing on at business as usual. We need to challenge that and the only way to challenge this is by having leaders stepping up to the plate. We in the Labour Party, and no doubt many others too, want Ireland to be one of those leaders. We want to be a leading green State at COP summits to come. We know we have the potential. A piece in The Irish Timesthis week by Dr. Cara Augustenborg highlighted the fact that we are one of the best placed countries in the world to lead by example in making the transition to a green net-zero economy. This is not to say it will be easy and no one is for a second saying that will be but it is possible. It is more possible here than in most other countries. The alternative of not taking action and carrying on as if the world is not nearly ablaze is far more costly and painful than committing to and acting on a green transition. We have the potential but it requires political will. We have the knowledge, we have the science and we have the resources but it requires political will. We have not seen enough political will from the Government to get their head down and lead the charge on climate action. There are missed targets, delayed delivery and dodging of responsibility. The courage to grasp the nettle does not seem to be there within this Government.

We have the opportunity here today to restore a bit of faith in our Government's response to climate crisis and to back up all the rhetoric with actual meaningful action. It is an opportunity to show people that this Government does in fact take global warming and ecological destruction seriously. What is more, this is easy. It is a straightforward motion. It simply asks that we make a piece of legislation do what it was intended to do. It is not reinventing the wheel but by allowing this motion to pass and acting on it we will be taking genuine and important steps towards divesting us totally from fossil fuels. It would be wise for the Government to take this opportunity and bring forward amendments to the Act to ensure that it lives up to its potential and its intentions. Many have lost faith in the Government's commitment to climate action but we would be happy to be proven wrong.

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