Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)

First, on behalf of all of the Social Democrats, I extend a very warm welcome back to Deputy Boyd Barrett. It is great to see him back.

We are hurtling towards a catastrophe. A new UN report published as COP30 is about to begin makes that clear. Plans to limit global warming to 1.5°C have failed. That threshold will be breached in the next decade. We are now on course to see temperatures rise by 2.3°C to 2.5°C. This is an existential threat to our very existence on this planet. Too many world leaders either do not recognise this threat or refuse to take it seriously. We know that 1.5°C of warming will have unthinkable consequences. It will lead to increased drought, famine, flooding and countless deaths. It will see large-scale food insecurity, increased migration and economic shocks. The world will become an even more unstable and dangerous place.

Even the EU, which claims to want to counter this threat, is failing miserably. This morning, member states agreed to cut emissions by 90% by 2040. However, this comes with a broad acceptance that 2030 targets will be missed by a country mile. That is the stark difference between climate rhetoric and climate action and it is something the Government is guilty of too. The Government said it would reduce emissions by 51% by 2030. Then, incredibly, it put forward measures that could at best add up to a reduction of only 23%. Shamefully, zero offshore wind is being generated, with none likely in 2030 either. Our waterways are choked with pollution, primarily from agriculture run-off and wastewater. None of us has to look very far to see the impact of the climate crisis.

In my own local area, Bantry was once again hit by floods yesterday, devastating homes and businesses that have barely recovered from floods last October. The long-promised culvert works to protect the town will not even begin until next year. This Government tells us that it is taking the climate crisis seriously.

I wish I could sound more hopeful about this, but what we and future generations are facing is truly frightening. We need to recognise it and address it because soon we will reach a tipping point, which will mean abrupt and catastrophic consequences that cannot be reversed. We still have time to act but only if plans are turbocharged, fast-tracked and, crucially, implemented. The current approach is not working. What new measures and emergency options is the Government going to take to meet our climate targets before it is too late?

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