Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This was based on what we debated in the committee, after many hours. It talked about the framework convention supporting people who are most affected by climate change but who have done the least to cause it. It was about the human rights and well-being of local communities, indigenous people and the most vulnerable. It was about being informed by science. These are the same principles, by the way, that were put forward by a number of international NGOs to the Minister asking that he reflect the same kinds of principles in the definition he has put forward. None of them are there. This is missing from the definition.

This is something that we need to move forward on, we need a change. This is a stain on the Bill as it proceeds at the moment. I want the Minister to explain where the justice is, where the future thinking is, where the international responsibility within the definition of climate justice is and, crucially, where the UN framework convention principle is. That principle is even in the Mary Robinson definition, which is not the strongest definition of climate justice, and centrally recognises "common but differentiated responsibilities".They need to be reflected in what we put in this Bill. I tabled the amendment that was proposed by the climate committee, which was not accepted and is not in the Bill. I also tabled the amendment proposed by Concern, Trócaire, Christian Aid and a whole array of international NGOs which have been campaigning on this issue for many years, and for disclosure. I campaigned with Trócaire in 2008 and wrote a campaign on climate justice with others from across South America and Europe that we brought to the 2008 Copenhagen climate talks. There is also a definition, which is the minimal, where we would simply recognise the UN definition, name the UN responsibilities and state they are to do with climate justice.

However, there is an even more minimal approach. Senator Bacik made the point eloquently in the previous debate. The Minister would be better to remove a definition of climate justice from the Bill and let us rely on such definitions that are out there in the wider world in UN and EU documents and so forth rather than put in a bad definition. That is a sad place to be, but we would be better to remove it and the reference to climate justice and to rely on wider contexts. I also proposed two very small amendments to at least take out the most egregious point, which is "so far as it is practicable to do so" when we talk about the human rights of those affected by climate change and to add the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change into the Minister's definition.

There was a 195% increase in sudden deaths in Canada in the past five days. More than 350 people died in a heatwave directly associated with climate change in British Columbia. It is interesting to note that many of them were indigenous people, who were the most vulnerable within British Columbian society. However, it is also a fact that the World Health Organization has told us that 140,000 people around the world died last year from climate change. People are dying now from climate change. We have a responsibility to them and we must recognise it in how we speak about climate justice. I want a definition that we can stand over and that will not embarrass us when we talk to people from a developing country about this common challenge and that we are able to say that this is a definition that recognises them and reflects our duties towards them.

Amendment No. 72 is extremely important. I have added in that the "common but differentiated responsibilities" would be explicitly named and understood. I know they are already in Article 2 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, so there is a reference to them, but that when deciding on our budgets, the advisory council is empowered directly to think about climate justice in a meaningful sense and to think about our common but differentiated responsibilities and the fair share that we should be doing as we tackle this global challenge.