Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am very glad we are back in the Seanad for what I hope is the final phase of the passing of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021. The various amendments accepted in the Seanad on the inclusion of just transition in the Long Title of the Bill, the removal of a definition of climate justice, and the clarification that sinks and removals as well as emissions are at the cornerstone of developing climate neutrality as part of the Paris Climate Agreement are critical.

There is one further consequential amendment from the Dáil. For the avoidance of doubt, it seeks to insert a requirement under section 3(3) that the Government and Ministers have to be consistent with the Paris Climate Agreement Articles 2 and 4(1) in any regulation they introduce in respect of how such removals and emissions are accounted for. In my mind, the amendment is for the avoidance of doubt because the Bill is clearly framed and structured around that key consistency. We introduced the amendment in the Dáil to ensure we come back to the central truth, namely, that the Bill is this House's application and adherence to the Paris Climate Agreement is at the centre of the Bill. It will give us the legislative mechanism to back up our signing of the agreement.

I hope the Members can see that as the sense and the outcome of the agreement to the final amendment. Subject to the amendment being agreed and the Bill being approved, we look forward to the legislation being fully enacted with the signature of the President, and the critical work of getting down to the business of delivering the scale of change we need to make.