Results 3,701-3,720 of 8,482 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: I just basically said we heard that Ireland's carbon budgets are not really aligned with fair share or Article 4.1 and the idea of equity or even the UN environment programme, UNEP, which says 7.6% would be an average, whereas, of course, developed countries should be doing more. Given that it looks like we are falling short on the issue of fair share and common but differentiated...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the witnesses. The research NESC has done has been very interesting. I hope we can have a deep conversation on just transition at some point with the council because the issue is of interest to the whole committee. The witnesses will have heard yesterday's discussion when the scientific case for early action was made very strongly, as was the economic case in that the State can...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: The transition communities have also illustrated this point because they have been very quick and ambitious.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: Energy communities and transition communities seem to be one of the fastest and most effective ways of delivering transition. In terms of employment vulnerability, will the witnesses comment on the importance of engagement with employees and not simply employers, and the importance of the employee voice in looking at the issue of employment vulnerability and solutions?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: Mr. Coghlan's written presentation mentions we need to reduce emissions by 7% a year. Will he confirm that is the view of the Irish Environmental Network? It is important, of course, because the question is whether the budgets get us to 7% per year. I was surprised by the idea of waiting to look at the fair share issue until 2030. Mr. Coghlan might comment on the climate debt being...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: On my final point, two thirds of family farms are not profitable under the current economic model. Maybe we should be front-loading subsidies to them rather than keeping that model going because many who are thinking in the long term, for instance, of forestry, will not invest in carbon sequestration to last until 2030. Can we incentivise it in the short term?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: It is for Mr. Rushe, and Mr. St. Ledger may want to comment on that forestry issue as to how incentives are provided.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: And climate debt.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: That is climate debt.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: And Social Justice Ireland.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: I am conscious that I do not have much time left. Perhaps Mr. St. Ledger could provide something in writing on forestry?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: Perhaps we could also have his response in writing, along with that from Mr. St. Ledger. I am conscious that other members want to come in.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank all of the witnesses. I will jump right in. One of the main concerns I have relates to climate justice. As the witnesses will be aware, there is an obligation in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 to have regard to climate justice but there is also an obligation in terms of equity. I was concerned at this attempt to strip that out and say that...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: It was a well-made point of the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, that a reduction of 7.6% on a global scale ongoing until 2030 might be the test. That is what was used in developing the target of 51%. If our guests could comment on that being a more appropriate measure of compliance than 1.5°C, I would appreciate it.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: In terms of future removals-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: I seek a comment only. Professor Anderson and others have spoken about how that 7.6% is based on removals. Is it the case that future risks, such as tipping points, have a higher probability of occurring than some of the future removals? As a result, should the precautionary principle be pushing us much higher?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: To clarify, I was not suggesting 2018 for historical responsibility. The Paris test has no historical responsibility in it, and that is one of the issues with it. My question was about whether 2020 was appropriate as the base year for the volume of emissions in the world at that point. It was an unusual dip.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: That is fine.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (11 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank all of our witnesses for attending. I have lots of questions but will leave some of them for the second round. I want to focus on two core issues. The first is the core considerations in the development of the carbon budgets and specifically the question of climate justice. To be frank, I was a little disappointed with the climate justice aspect, which there is an obligation to...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (11 Jan 2022)
Alice-Mary Higgins: If I could just have-----