Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 70:

In page 14, line 8, after "is" to insert "at least".

This again points to the fact that the specific target shall be 51% in the specific year. As it stands, the Bill does not set any trajectory or guarantee a reduction of emissions all along. It could be argued that this is required but it may allow emissions to rise as we go along. What was so clear from all the witnesses before the climate committee was the need for a flight path. I had an amendment ruled out of order that would ensure an average of 7%. It takes in what is a principle akin to compound interest, with a 7% reduction and then another 7% on that reduced amount. The idea of a 7% reduction was in the programme for Government. It is slightly less than what is required, which is approximately 7.6%, according to international figures. It was going in the right direction.

The concern now is the Bill just sets out what is happening in 2030. It does not set out a trajectory or guarantee with regard to what happens in the meantime. That concern was raised by Professor John Sweeney, Dr. Andrew Jackson and others. They all raised the point clearly and I know they wrote to the Government about it. This part of the Bill is poorly worded and a mistake.

There is a small element that is really important to me. In the climate committee we asked that there would be a minimum interim target for 2030. There should be a 51% target but this should be set as the floor because we must reach it, rather than setting it as a ceiling, which means we cannot do better than 51%. Perhaps we could do better but the advisory council might not be able to aim higher than 51%. That is why I want to include the words "at least". It would give the advisory council the scope to propose something more ambitious. It may well be that the Government agrees with the 51% figure because it is what is politically achievable for it, but the advisory council is free in an independent way to propose something more ambitious in respect of that second budget, for example.