Results 4,241-4,260 of 8,212 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The reason I am speaking to it is because I have a number of amendments-----

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Pardon?

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: No, it relates to this amendment. I want to signal that in relation to my-----

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am quite confident in the relevance of what I am saying, which is to note that this amendment is a single amendment which does the work of about 15 amendments of mine. If the Government is able to accept this amendment when it is reintroduced on Report Stage, it will save me from having to move my 15 amendments. Senator Bacik's experience has allowed her to draft a single amendment that...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 24: In page 7, after line 38, to insert the following: “(2) No remedy or relief by way of compensation shall be available to investors with respect to actions taken to comply with any provision of this Act or any obligation or duty created thereunder.”. This amendment relates to one of the most problematic aspects of the Bill as a whole. It is an...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will proceed to speak to the amendments which are in order. As well as the individual damages that are done through this, we also see a great disjoint between how we treat the consequences for individuals in their lives in respect of compensation and damages, and the consequences for companies. I am speaking to my amendment, which relates to the compensations available for investors. In...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am not asking the Minister to put liability into the Bill. I am asking him not to put a limitation of liability into the Bill. I note that the previous climate Bill did not have a limitation of liability clause. It is, therefore, perfectly possible to have climate legislation that does not include a limitation of liability clause. It is not standard in this practice. It is a decision...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Will the Minister clarify whether he believes that there are no circumstances in which a policy decision would be made in respect of climate with a view towards potential exposure to claims for compensation or, indeed, legitimate expectations?

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: To be clear, I am not only speaking about judicial review. I am speaking also of the other forms of arbitration that it has been proposed to introduce. The investment court systems are arbitration courts. As Senator Warfield outlined, we know in regard to the energy charter treaty that climate legislation in France has been targeted by claims for compensation. This led to the dilution of...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will come back to this because it is key-----

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: If other Senators have indicated, I will be happy to allow them to come in at this point. However, I wish to contribute again on this amendment, as is my right.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The aspect I am addressing in my amendment relates to what is not in the Bill. Opening up this topic was, again, a choice by the Government which decided to include this new section. It would perhaps require less debate now if it had been in the original Bill sent to the climate action committee but it was not. This is a late addition by the Government in its new draft of the Bill. I am...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 25: In page 8, line 7, to delete “climate neutral economy” and substitute “completely decarbonised economy”.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 26: In page 8, line 7, after “economy” to insert “and society”.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 27: In page 8, line 22, after “1992,” to insert “including the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in respect of that objective,”. This amendment seeks to make it explicitly clear that in considering the UNFCCC, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in respect of the UNFCCC objectives shall apply....

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Will the Minister specifically address the question of greatest and highest possible ambition and the principle of progression? As I understand it, those are not included in those sections of the Paris Agreement that have been pulled out at the moment.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will conclude and then we can go to the votes. I note it is precisely because this Bill covers the period to 2050 that I urge the Minister to consider that the language on "highest possible ambition and progression" should be included. While he may well have set his limits on his ambition for 2030 already, in the years 2030 to 2035, 2035 to 2040 and so forth, ideally we should be looking...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is my less-preferred amendment.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My apologies, Acting Chairperson. I agree with Senator O'Reilly in that my preference is that we would just reference Articles 2 and 4 of the Paris Agreement rather than trying to pull that language out of the agreement, but I was just trying to narrow this down to the particular piece I had in mind. I agree that amendment No. 29 would be stronger and I would prefer that amendment.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 28: In page 8, line 26, to delete "in Articles 2 and 4(1) of" and substitute "and commitments made in".