John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As many speakers have said, and it is quite clear that this legislation is one of the most transformative climate action Bills. It is important to recognise that this is also probably one of the most transformative Bills to that has gone through the Oireachtas in the past couple of years as well.

I wish to pay tribute to the Chairperson of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Action, Deputy Brian Leddin. He has done a very important job in steering the legislation through the committee over the past couple of months to get it to where it is today. I also pay tribute to my colleague, Senator Pauline O'Reilly. She has been extremely helpful in assisting Deputy Leddin with that, and assisting other Government members of the committee. She made sure that members were present for votes when people, like myself, arrived late.

The introduction of this legislation today is a great day for the Green Party and its involvement in the Government. It shows how important it is that every politician in any functioning democracy should strive to get into government because it is an opportunity to implement and advocate for the policies, and manifestos, on which people have campaigned for decades. We have seen that come from this Government in recent months and there are not just green fingerprints on legislation. The Government has issued green policies left, right and centre because of the involvement of the Green Party and we have seen that today with the announcement of safe cycle routes to schools.

I have been a member of the Oireachtas committee for the past year. It has been quite a steep learning curve because I joined as a first-time member of the Oireachtas and worked with people on the committee who have spent a lifetime of work dedicated to climate action. These are people who were talking about the process of climate change long before I was born. As a new member of the Oireachtas, participation on the committee has been a challenge but it has also been a great learning curve and a joy.

Today's legislation is similar to the Scottish legislation, which the committee discussed in detail. I believe that this legislation can be the gold standard of climate action legislation and that other countries will be able to look to Ireland as a shining example of the type of legislation they need to introduce.

I accept the point that Senator McDowell made earlier but just because other countries are not pulling their weight is not a good enough excuse for Ireland not to have some of the most ambitious climate action legislation. Let us be a shining example and guilt trip or bring other democracies along with us, which is why this statutory framework is so important.

Perhaps one of the best examples of an amendment was the one asking for the language in the legislation to be much more specific. It is key that accountability runs through every sentence and every paragraph of this legislation. I want to take the opportunity to outline a couple of points on accountability that are important.

First, there is the introduction of the legal requirement for the Government to adopt a series of three successive economy-wide five-year plans for each sector, which is a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach. We are setting very clear and achievable targets and we are showing people how to achieve them.

Second, the Climate Action Advisory Council will be strengthened by increasing the number of members from 11 to 14, thus getting a wider range of experience. The fact that the council will be able to propose budgets to the Minister is another good example of how we are putting accountability into the legislation.

Third is the accountability that we are going to give to local authorities, which is important.Within 18 months of the enactment of this Bill, every local authority in the country will have to produce a climate action plan. It is wonderful that in a year or two, or in four years’ time, county councillors - who have always had directors of services for housing, transport and planning - will sit on council meetings with directors of services for climate action, who will be directly accountable to councillors in local authorities. That will be very impressive.

In my last year as chair of the special policy committee on planning, we introduced a climate action plan for Louth County Council, including a whole approach towards the local authority. The Minister’s colleague in Dundalk, Councillor Marianne Butler, now chairs a dedicated special policy committee on climate action in Louth County Council. Local authorities should be going forward in this way. We are introducing accountability in this area.

The final aspect of our approach is the provision that ensures all Ministers will be held accountable before Oireachtas committees each year. They will be dragged in front of an Oireachtas committee, held to account and required to answer questions about their performance on targets that have been set. That level of accountability is good because it puts pressure on a Minister to achieve targets and ensures those targets will not be put on the long finger or left to sit by the wayside. I have given four good examples of how accountability is a cornerstone of this Bill.

Another key cornerstone of this Bill is in the realm of climate justice and just transition. The urgency to address climate change in a sustainable, equitable and fair way is a very important part of this Bill. It is informed and, most importantly, guided by science and it goes to the core of this Bill. The definition of climate justice in this Bill mirrors closely the definition provided by Mary Robinson. The idea of a just transition also runs throughout this Bill. It is of critical importance that we make it as easy as possible for sectors that need to make the required system changes. We must support the communities where there may be a perceived negative impact to make the changes that are required.

There are new employment opportunities in this Bill as well, coupled with an acknowledgement that there must be continuous engagement with communities to support the system changes that I refer to. That ongoing communication is a key part of the legislation. Many Senators have spoken about how we will have to bring people along with us to ensure they are not divided. Over the next 30 years, as we head towards 2030 and 2050, the ongoing communication that is part of this Bill will go a long way in combating misinformation, and politicians who may want to kick up a fuss about anything for their political gain. Ongoing communication will reduce the occurrences of that happening. It is greatly important that we communicate our policies and that we bring people along with us. Once the way we are going to do this is explained in a simple manner, people will want to buy into this and will do so.

The agricultural community is a good example of the communities we talk about that will be negatively impacted, or where there is the perception of being negatively impacted. I will be clear; I believe those communities have nothing to fear from this Bill. They will be at the forefront of this legislation, if I am being honest. We will all need their advice, guidance and expertise in making this just transition work. I have had good engagement from members of the Louth IFA during the year about this Bill and climate action in general. Senator Dooley mentioned that people involved in agriculture have a far better understanding of the task that we face, because every day they are on their land where they see erosion and flooding happening. They realise what is happening and they want to play a substantial role in this effort. They want to be at the forefront, with the rest of us, in trying to make changes. They are committed to achieving climate improvement by reducing emissions and contributing to carbon removal, which can be done through forestry and the management of soils, etc. The distinct characteristics of biogenic methane need to be fully considered by the climate advisory council. The pace of the reduction in the agricultural sector needs to be balanced and underpinned by emerging scientific options and views with regard to methane. It must follow the same reduction trajectory as carbon dioxide.

The point has been made clearly that this Bill is transformative.It is really ambitious and sets an example that other countries need to follow. The most important feature running through it is accountability. There is no point in having all these really great ideas if we do not make people accountable. Accountability seeps through this legislation in the same way as climate justice and moving towards a just transition. We are making sure we are bringing people with us and not leaving anybody behind. I am convinced that in years to come, future generations will look back to this Government and this legislation and say it got it right on climate action. They will say it stepped up to the plate and did what needed to be done and they will be reaping the benefits of this legislation 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 years into the future.