Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Leaders from around the world met last week and again this week in Sharm el-Sheikh to try to move the world towards having greater respect for the environment by targeting the reduction in carbon emissions. While much of the talk is about policies, targets, limits and restrictions, it is up to us in these Houses to put more time into the actions that need to take place.It is fine to have the policies, targets and ambition. It requires concrete action. If anything has come out of the various intergovernmental reports it is recognising laws that are passed. However, the emissions continue.

Perhaps we should have a debate in this House on the practical measures that we as a society could implement and begin that dialogue and debate about practical measures rather than just looking at the targets. I am taken to some extent by matters I have read about what has been done in France for some time. They put solar panels over every carpark. It seems an easy win, a no-brainer. Here we are talking about planning permission for rolling out solar farms and that is good. Many communities do not want wind farms anymore. I get that. We need to expedite the offshore potential but that is seven or eight years away. Every public carpark can with a stroke of a pen without any necessity for further planning have solar panels installed. It seems an easy win if there is a directive that solar panels are put over them and that it is a requirement before any future carparks are allowed to be built to put solar panels over them. They can act to some extent as protection from the rain which we have seen plenty of in recent weeks. I make that suggestion as an aside. I would like some time here for a discussion because many Senators meet many people and hear a great many ideas. Perhaps we could have a debate about practical measures that could be brought forward to assist in the decarbonisation of our economy.