Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for attending. I will speak on amendment No. 60 concerning emissions and companies. I have spoken about this topic several times in this Chamber and I have also had some engagement with Departments on it. I would love to see it progressing as part of this legislation.

Last Friday, I referred to an article in The Guardianwhich highlighted that 100 companies produce more than 70% of global emissions. It is worth bearing that statistic in mind when considering this amendment. When we talk about common but differentiated responsibilities to combat climate change, it is clear that we must invite these companies into the conversation if we want to have a real, long-term just transition. We do not want to vilify these companies that employ our citizens and give them jobs and livelihoods, but to work with them. We want to set up frameworks whereby these companies can work with the communities in which they and their employees are based, and empower them to contribute to Ireland’s move to a cleaner and more environmentally-conscious future. The amendment calls for companies to make their emissions public. It is hoped that making those figures public, as well as the plans of such companies to reduce their emissions year on year, will give a clear indication that everyone in Ireland is driving towards the same goal.

Taking such an approach is an opportunity for multinational companies, which can sometimes feel faceless, to integrate into their local communities and become more transparent. In doing so, they can also pay heed to the ideals of a just transition, whereby we drive towards a common goal of reducing our emissions by at least 51% while taking a differentiated approach based on the respective capabilities of individuals and companies. This opportunity to become more transparent and, as a result, to be truly integrated into an Ireland that drives towards reducing our admissions, will require these companies to commit to working with us and to adopting reporting mechanisms that are public and accessible. When I say accessible, I mean standardised reporting frameworks, written in plain English, that can be easily read by any member of the public. Taking such an approach encourages transparency and acts as a starting point for a grassroots and community-led just transition.

Inviting these companies in will mean we can work as one to agree an accountability framework that will allow us to hold each other to account in the same manner as we do individuals. However, if we fail to do this, then we will surely risk the failure of any good work done through this legislation. Such failure may not occur today or this year, but in the future. That is certainly not a risk that I believe any of us are in a position to take. In all the conversations I have had in recent months regarding companies being transparent concerning their emissions and having a public register in that regard, there has always been a great deal of fear mentioned first regarding the burdens which may be placed on companies. It is now to weigh the burden of such administration against the burden being placed on the climate. We must decide which is the greater risk and the heaviest burden.

Many positive conversations can be had regarding what that framework may look like. We cannot have a conversation which entails small SMEs leading out on this type of policy or people who do not have the required access to build what such a framework would look like. However, some of the world’s biggest companies are in Ireland. If they led the way in creating this framework, other companies could follow and feed into it. I ask the Minister of State to accept this amendment, which goes back to our conversations last week about how we share the burden equally. We can only truly show that big companies are sharing this burden if they are willing to participate publicly in our endeavours by being transparent about their emissions and how they plan to reduce them. Most companies like competition.

It may be slightly different, perhaps, but I remember facilitating conversations in Trinity College Dublin, TCD, on fossil fuels. The big institutions enjoyed leading by example and being the first institution to do something. If we include in the Bill a requirement for companies to be transparent on emissions and big companies then take the lead in this regard, it will be much easier for the rest to follow. This is an important part of the wider conversation on this legislation. I look forward to the Minister of State's response.