Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I want to speak briefly about the ongoing negotiations in Copenhagen as well as some of the climate change challenges facing Ireland. Observing the global response to climate change has been increasingly depressing. Progress is too slow, opposing interests are too rich and fine words are too often unaccompanied by any real action.

The climate change conference in Copenhagen represents a unique opportunity to change our course. The signs so far are mixed. While action is supported overwhelmingly by the public, the political reality and experience thus far tells us that whatever is achieved will probably not be enough. Efforts to devise a roadmap for tackling climate change after 2012 have been severely hampered by a determined and financially robust campaign against the notion of climate change. In The Guardian newspaper this week, George Monbiot cited two cases from Climate Cover Up, an excellent book by James Hoggan and Richard Littlemore. They provided a case study that focuses on the efforts of coal companies in the United States of America to create a smog and spread misinformation about climate change. The coalition is targeting different groups with different messages in an attempt to create confusion.

It is clear that many, if not all, of the large energy companies are speaking out of both sides of their mouths. On the one hand, billions of dollars are being spent convincing us all that these companies have had a Damascene conversion about the benefits of green energy and, on the other hand, they are spending as much on disseminating misinformation, half truths and statistical manipulation. This is especially true of the US where it seems that, even if a deal is produced in Copenhagen, getting such a deal through the Houses of Congress would be difficult.

The battle lines have been drawn and it is our responsibility as legislators to inform people about what climate change will look like in Ireland. The devastation we saw as a result of the recent floods should be framed as a preview to the type of chaos we can expect to become increasingly commonplace on this island. Families will be isolated in their homes, the elderly and infirm will worry about whether they will get food, farmers will be concerned about their livestock and small businesses will worry about their stock.

In Cork, Clonmel and elsewhere, hundreds of communities suffered as a result of what mother nature can do. Senator Brady asked why it occurred, but it is a combination of bad luck, bad weather and bad planning. We can make a difference by being careful about not zoning new residential developments in flood plains and by being aware of the likely impact of climate change on coastal communities in particular.

Events such as the recent floods will become commonplace if change is not introduced. Yesterday's budget proposes some measures, but we need to do much more. We have made remarkably little progress in our efforts to combat climate change. Less than 3% of our energy consumption comes from renewable or sustainable sources. Earlier this year during a similar debate in the House, I mentioned a report from Sustainable Energy Ireland, which stated that the average Irish household uses 31% more than its EU counterpart. The report found that household fuel usage decreased by less than 0.5% between 1995 and 2006, while average electricity usage per person increased by a considerable 62%. We are fourth from bottom in the EU energy league and Dublin is one of the worst performing cities in the European green city index. A report published last year by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, predicted that by 2020, Ireland will have exceeded its greenhouse emissions target by 7 million tonnes. These statistics are not indicative of a society or Government that takes the dangers of climate change seriously.

Last year, I spoke of the urgent need for an aggressive campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of climate change and of the benefits of clean fuel and energy independence. Senator Brady believes we must ensure people are well aware of the dangers we face. We need a campaign to match the emotional impact of anti-smoking and drink driving campaigns. The sense of urgency is absent from public debate. We should be under no illusion about the threat before us if we do not act.

Yesterday, UN experts warned that unless action is taken soon, climate change could lead to another 100 million people facing starvation by the middle of the century owing to the reduction in yields of crops such as maize, rice and wheat. We still have a chance to prevent such a disaster. During this week and next week many people will go to Copenhagen to try to reach an international agreement on the way forward. I shall be in attendance and hope to speak to many people about the measures we can introduce to make a difference. Like everybody in this House, I hope the Copenhagen summit will be a success and that world leaders will agree on how we can collectively fight this grave threat to our future.