Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for outlining the proposed plan on climate action. Fianna Fáil has a strong record on the introduction of climate change measures. It recognises that the climate crisis is the defining global challenge of our time, and it is committed to ensuring Ireland does its fair share and meets legally binding commitments at EU and UN levels. In May 2019, Fianna Fáil ensured that the Dáil declared a climate and biodiversity emergency and called for the issue of biodiversity loss to be considered by the Citizens' Assembly. Global warming and associated biodiversity loss are already resulting in a range of adverse economic, environmental, health and social impacts, and the outlook is deteriorating. Every action and every year of delay matters. Future generations should not have to bear the brunt of the impacts. Young people are very conscious of this. Last Monday week, Roscommon County Council declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. That was a decision proposed by Councillor Donal Kilduff and seconded by Councillor Orla Leyden. It was agreed unanimously by the council. It showed leadership at local level that demonstrates councillors are prepared to work together in each area to implement the plans of their authorities and the Government. In fact, before the agreement drawn up by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and two independents on Roscommon County Council, a majority of the councillors had put forward a plan on the environment. That is very positive.

We have diesel locomotives on all the main rail lines. Surely it is not beyond the bounds of possibility to electrify them. It is worth examining how exactly we can reduce the amount of diesel and petrol being used. It would be worth investigating the feasibility of electrification of some of the lines, be it the Dublin-Belfast line or another. I am not sure what the procedure would be or the work involved. It would certainly be a step in the right direction as far as I am concerned.

The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, now needs to analyse the climate impacts of Government commitments and verify that we can meet the 2030 target without paying millions for carbon credits. The Climate Change Advisory Council needs to assess independently the adequacy of all proposed measures and ensure that they are in line with our Paris Agreement commitments. Climate action is not simply an all-of-government challenge. It presents a cross-societal opportunity. It is a national issue and should be dealt with not on a party political basis but on a united all-Ireland basis to bring about the changes required.

This plan is merely the start of the process. The litmus test of Government action will be how quickly Fine Gael moves to put necessary legislation and policies in place. What we do in 2019 is far more important than where we say we will be in 2050.

The main weakness of the 2019 climate plan is that it is not costed beyond Project Ireland 2040 commitments. The costs of enabling infrastructure, such as the electric vehicle, EV, charging network, are not outlined. The plan fails to put forward any annual costings for actions or to clarify how much would fall on non-Exchequer sources. This plan outlines emissions reductions of 2% per annum up to 2030, with reductions of 7% envisaged thereafter. This approach goes against the recommendations of climate scientists and economists who have emphasised that delayed efforts only increase the risks of disastrous impacts and serve to drive up the costs of the transition.

Fianna Fáil is concerned that certain actions and timelines from the cross-party Oireachtas report have not been incorporated. By contrast with the position in other EU states, the plan excludes a commitment to introduce into legislation a new long-term net zero target to decarbonise the economy by 2050. Necessary amending legislation on climate action is to be delayed until 2020, as are necessary new measures on how better to support those vulnerable to fuel poverty.The plan principally focuses on those areas which put the responsibility on citizens, such as extremely ambitious targets for electric vehicles and home retrofits. Even with additional grants and incentives, the high upfront costs associated with these measures will make them inaccessible to poorer households.

It is extremely disappointing that the guiding principle of climate justice is limited to multilateral processes. The plan is extremely weak on necessary measures and community supports to achieve a just transition for communities and workers in carbon-intensive industries, particularly in the midlands. It is very important the IDA and the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation would ensure those jobs will be replaced in the regions.

I commend the Minister on his efforts. He has taken a very definite approach. By working together, I believe all of us can make a difference, which is the point. I know from talking with my 12 year old granddaughter, Donata Maria, that she is very concerned. Pupils in schools are deeply concerned and they are bringing about change, for example, in regard to plastic cups and so on. That is a step in the right direction. We need to bring into schools the plan the Minister is putting forward and encourage teachers to discuss climate change.