Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I also welcome broadly the publication of the scrutiny report which contains many useful recommendations. I agree with the committee's recommendation that we lend our support to the policy framework proposed in the document.

Over the past six months, every country has been affected by a period of sustained financial turmoil as the global economy stumbles from one crisis to another and, as a result, the environmental agenda and our commitment to reversing the adverse effects of climate change will face a stern test, to which Senator O'Malley referred. These are difficult economic times and it must be ensured our enthusiasm for fighting climate change remains absolute. The economic crisis has proved that if we ignore tipping points through inactivity, greed and misinformation, we do so at our own peril. There were many red flags and warning signs in advance of the financial crisis but they were not heeded. We are at an environmental tipping point and we need to act soon.

While the findings and deliberations of the committee are broadly welcome, I worry that there is no sense of urgency about how important it is to deal with these issues soon. It is important to protect our competitiveness and it is vital we defend our agricultural sector, but these issues should be recognised as challenges rather than impediments.

I refer to the work done by a number of expert organisations and institutions to outline the scale of the problem we face. In a report published in July, Sustainable Energy Ireland found that the average Irish household consumes 27% more energy than the average UK household and 31% more than the average EU household. The report found that household fuel use decreased by less than 0.5% between 1995 and 2006 while the average electricity use per person increased by 62%, almost two thirds. These figures are not reflective of a society taking the threat of global warming and climate change seriously.

Another report published earlier this month by the Environmental Protection Agency accurately sets out the enormous scale of the challenge that Ireland faces if we are to turn our fine words into action and a co-ordinated national response. The report says Ireland will face huge difficulties in meeting its Kyoto limits and proposed EU targets by 2020. The EPA included projections for environmental pressures and, even under the most favourable scenarios, Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions will exceed the 2020 reduction target by 7 million tonnes. That equates to two tonnes of excess gas produced by every man, woman and child in the country and, therefore, it is clearly something on which we need to take action

A report from the University of Zurich published in July that measured countries' co-operation under five key indicators is even more worrying. The mechanism the report proposed takes into account whether and how fast countries have committed to the UN Framework on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Other indicators such as reporting, financial contributions and CO2 were also examined across 198 nations. On a scale of one to six, with one being the least co-operative and six the most co-operative, Ireland achieved a three, way behind France, Spain, the UK and most of central and Eastern Europe. We are in the same company as Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Niger, Chad and Burma.

Portugal also scored a three but it is moving ahead aggressively to meet clean energy targets. A recent EU report maintained that, by 2020, Portugal will be generating 31% of all its energy from clean fuels by 2020. There are parallels between Portugal and Ireland. Both countries lack significant oil and coal reserves but Portugal is leading Europe's clean energy revolution and it has successfully mobilised and energised its population in the task of weaning them off imported oil. Over the past three years Portugal has trebled its hydropower capacity, quadrupled its wind power and has introduced comprehensive legislation to speed up the release of land for renewable energy projects. A recent report in The Guardian praised the impact of Portugal's enormous investment in wind energy and noted that it is in the process of creating thousands of jobs in this sector, replacing jobs disappearing owing to manufacturing closures. An economic downturn should not be used as an impediment to investment in policies that reduce climate change. A fair weather climate change policy should not be a medium or long-term option.

Opposition Members are well aware we have our own part to play in this and it is not all down to the Government parties.