Ciarán Cannon (Progressive Democrats)

I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his appointment and I wish him all the best in the next five years.

I welcome the opportunity to debate climate change, which is a serious issue that deserves a serious, co-ordinated response at international, European Union and national level. In urging a co-ordinated response, it behoves us to develop such a response locally and at home, with action built around a comprehensive national climate change strategy published earlier this year.

This strategy, taken with the White Paper on energy and bioenergy, presents an ambitious but realistic pathway to enable Ireland to meet its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol by 2012. It also places us in the position to play our part fully in any reduction regime adopted by the EU and, I hope, on a global level post-2012.

The ambitious measures set out in this strategy, including ensuring a third of electricity consumed in Ireland comes from renewable resources by 2020, are also consistent with Ireland remaining a high-growth and high-employment society. As the recent report by Sir Nicholas Stern has pointed out, the world does not need to choose between averting climate change and promoting growth and development. Changes in energy technologies and in the structure of economies have created opportunities to decouple growth from greenhouse gas emissions.

Ireland has been very successfully decoupling economic growth from carbon emissions. In the past 15 years our economy has grown by more than 150%, with greenhouse gas emissions rising by only 25%. As a result, for every unit of GDP we now produce emissions at 48% of their 1990 levels compared with an EU 15 average of 78%.

This is a result of old and low value — but high emission — plant in the industrial sector being replaced with modern, high-value jobs. To use current jargon, these have a much smaller carbon footprint. These jobs are in both high-value manufacturing and, increasingly, in internationally traded service activities.

These new jobs, which are more environmentally friendly, were largely created in the entrepreneurial private sector, both indigenous and foreign. It is only by maintaining an outward looking, confident and development-oriented society which continues to attract such investment that we can successfully meet the challenge of global warming. Growth-oriented, enterprise-friendly economies have been always more successful in meeting environmental challenges than stagnant societies. Thus, the challenges of global warming will serve neither to justify a return to failed command and control nor act as a cover for anti-growth and anti-development ideologies.

The strategy sets out a series of co-ordinated measures across the energy sector, taking in industry, agriculture, transport and housing. This will ensure Ireland plays a full part in tackling global warming. These measures will also enhance our energy security and provide new opportunities for enterprises and employment. For example, increased supports for the production of biomass and bio-fuel will reduce CO2 emissions, increase security of supply and provide opportunities for our farmers to develop new cash crops. They will also provide opportunities for the development of new green industries.

The Government strategy also provides for information campaigns and incentives to help individual householders conserve energy. This is one of the most cost-effective ways in which we can all contribute individually to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

There is also provision for the purchase of carbon credits. In the past this approach has been mischaracterised as some form of delinquency but this is not the case. Such schemes, properly implemented, can reduce carbon emissions in developing countries while promoting employment opportunities for their people. The simple fact is a tonne of carbon saved is beneficial whether it is done in eastern Europe, Africa, Asia or Ireland. The Kyoto Protocol specifically recognises this and has encouraged countries to use carbon trading and other measures to bring about specified reduction at the lowest cost.

I emphasise that meeting the targets set out in the strategy will require a major national effort. I wish to see this House, and the Oireachtas in general, immediately begin to focus on how we will meet these challenges. The joint programme for Government already commits to agreeing an all-party approach on climate change targets. In advance of agreeing such targets, the Government will set a target for this Administration of a reduction of 3% per year, on average, in our greenhouse gas emissions. It will mandate the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to publish an annual report setting out progress on meeting climate change targets and seek to establish a high-level commission on climate change to oversee implementation of the strategy. It commits the Government to mandating the Minister for Finance to present an outline carbon report, or carbon budget, in conjunction with the annual financial budget. This is to be followed immediately by a report from the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government outlining our use of energy in the preceding year, the progress made in reduction targets and Government plans to meet targets in the following year.

I understand all these commitments are now being implemented. With regard to an all-party approach, it will take two — or in this case three or more — to tango. I have no problem accepting the provisions of most of this Bill as a statutory underpinning of the programme for Government or for any actions emerging from all-party agreement on climate change. I wish to see the Bill examined in that context.