Results 361-380 of 4,228 for speaker:Brian Leddin
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: I thank Ms N’Zi-Hassane for her opening statement. I call Mr. O'Brien of Trócaire to deliver his opening statement.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: I thank Mr. MacEvilly for his opening statement. We had five incredibly thorough and well-articulated opening statements there. It is hard to know where to begin as there is so much in each of them. We probably do not have enough time today to go through the detail in all of them as much as we would like. I thank the witnesses for putting so much effort into the opening statements and for...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: If anyone else wants to speak on these questions, since the first question is quite general, please indicate.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: I thank Mr. MacEvilly for that and thank Senator Boylan. Have the witnesses done any work on the advertising issue? It is something we discussed here about a year ago. It seems to be a fundamental challenge. Every psychological trick in the book is being used to persuade people to consume more and buy things they often do not need. Advertising tries to persuade them they need things like...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: There is general agreement on the committee that it is something that needs to be tackled but there is a lack of good analysis and research out there.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: That is a very good point. We have time if members want to ask further questions. I want to home in on aviation and maritime emissions a little. We hope to get good news in the next week or two from the COP and international agreement in that area. Ireland has indicated it wants to make progress there. The politics of this are really important because from an economic justice or equity...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: Not the superyachts and the private jets.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: Of aviation emissions? I do not think they are anything like that. My problem is what if we focus on this and target these guys and then we do not achieve anything. We need to look at the sectors generally but it is politically very difficult to look at the sectors in a broad way and it is politically very easy to say let us target the private jets and superyachts, which we absolutely must do.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: Yes, which is tiny compared with the aviation movements-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: We should do it but if we focus on that, we will not achieve what we need to achieve, namely, radical cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: Yes.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: Anyone who is flying is in the 10%.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: Okay. I thank Mr. Murtagh.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: It is the fairness aspect I am alluding to. We would be ignoring fairness if we were to look just at the superwealthy. We must target them but the other 10% of people are incredibly wealthy and privileged by comparison with the rest. It is not fair to the rest if we are not looking at that 10% of people referred to who are taking 70% of flights. Politically, if we are just talking about...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: I never used the word "populist".
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: I fundamentally agree with those points, but I am referring purely to the aviation issue, in particular, and to maritime, to a certain extent.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: On the aviation emissions, against the argument to levy aviation tax and a tax on maritime fuel as well is that we are an island. The context is very different here to that of member states across Europe and that all has to be part of the discussion. Did other members wish to speak?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: I will bring it back to COP28. Is there something there in respect of data centres and the international picture? I do not know. Is the challenge of data centres, from a climate point of view, being discussed at international level? We are talking about it nationally. It is a very important conversation but, surely, other countries are hosting a lot of data centres. Is that discussion...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: It is not on the agenda of COP28, as far as we know.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP28: Discussion (28 Nov 2023)
Brian Leddin: The argument is that, if the data centres were not in Ireland, Moneypoint might not be running at all and would not be getting coal from these places. It is fair to call what is happening in these places human rights crimes. I thank Mr. Murtagh for that. There are no other questions from members so we will-----