Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to make a statement on climate action and low carbon development. The transition document sets the context for why we are here today and this is not a matter that can be kicked to touch or down the line. The threat to our environment, public health and economic prosperity is very real and without a radical change in the economic and environmental approach of government, human misery, war and ecological deterioration will reach levels never before witnessed. I listened to President Higgins speak on the rise of the global south, which is a defining shift in our time. Ireland and our global diaspora have a role in supporting and welcoming that shift. We should be proactive in engaging in that dialogue, as a very real and transparent commitment to climate change can be the result.

Senator McDowell mentioned that austerity and the economic crash has been the single biggest factor in reducing emissions in Ireland. It has not been the action of this or previous Governments. The Minister has personally expressed confidence that Ireland will meet its 2020 target of 40% of electricity being generated from renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass and so on. Should we fall short of those targets, what does the Minister believe will be the reasons for our inability to meet them? What are the repercussions for the State?

Given the Minister's confidence in meeting those targets, is it his intention to diversify our renewable energy generation by allowing an equal playing field for solar energy development? Under the public service obligation, the current projection is that nearly 3,000 MW of renewable energy will receive €335 million in 2016 and 2017; we can compare that to 250 MW of fossil fuel getting €140 million. This means the fossil fuel industry benefitted from a huge €386 million subsidy last year. That is €11,000 per megawatt for renewable power and €56,000 per megawatt for fossil fuel, or five times as much per megawatt. Wind, biomass, hydro and biogas all receive feed-in tariffs but solar does not. It is a technology really suited to community and local participation with active citizenship.

It has been mentioned that last month the Environmental Protection Agency launched its environmental assessment report, outlining a number of areas that need a renewed focus by the Government. These include air quality, water pollution and climate action. A particularly shocking statistic is that poor air quality in towns and cities causes more than 1,200 premature deaths per year. That is clearly down to an increasing number of cars on our roads combined with the burning of solid fuels for heat and energy.

We are calling for a greater sense of urgency in reducing our dependency on fossil fuels for energy, heating and transport. It is imperative that this Government addresses all of this by fully implementing the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act while laying out a very clear roadmap of how Ireland will reach its emission reduction targets from 2020 to 2050. We cannot stress enough the need to include the sectoral targets in the Government's climate action plan, and Sinn Féin called for this to be included in the 2015 Act.

Given that this transition statement comes a year since the passing of the Act, I was reflecting on where we were just one year ago. I recall a statement from An Taoiseach that Ireland "is driving economic and environmental efficiencies in agriculture and achieving results". That statement is perhaps an untruth and at least open to question. The agricultural food sector is really important, as we know, and we are producing food for many countries. If we want to achieve the success spoken about by An Taoiseach we must develop more sustainable farming areas. The sugar industry is one example. The beef and dairy sectors are important and should be protected but our over-reliance on beef and dairy leaves us extremely vulnerable, as we all know, in meeting our international commitments. My understanding is that 37% of our farming community are economically viable, amounting to 30,000 farmers, and if one removes the single farm payment, the number of farmers who are economically viable are 15,000. Energy production can add to the sustainability of that industry but this can only happen if the likes of feed-in tariffs and connections to the grid are facilitated.

The Paris Agreement means Ireland must immediately embark on a rapid and just transition to a carbon-free future. I note the Minister will shortly publish a preliminary consultation to inform the preparation of Ireland's first mitigation plan but could we have the timeline for the publication of that draft? The Minister might indicate if this will phase out fossil fuels and if it will harness the positivity of active citizenship, as I mentioned, by facilitating and kick-starting community ownership? Where does our agricultural sector fit into that mitigation plan? Does the Minister truly accept that if we are to be honest with ourselves, any mitigation plan must be about transforming every aspect of our lives on this island and this planet? It must be about transforming the way we live. Capitalism will continue to prey and advance over the last expanding frontiers of the earth. It is as if we accept the environment will not only continue to give in abundance but sustain us as well.It will not, and nothing will be possible on a scorched earth.