Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I want to raise the need for Government policy to incorporate the contributions that people on different incomes make to the climate crisis. In order to do that, good quality data is essential. The climate justice question is often framed as the difference between wealthy countries in the global north like Ireland and America that have high average emissions per capitaand global south countries like India or Mozambique that have low average emissions per capita. It is also important to reflect the fact that climate justice also applies within country borders. Country level averages often mask the contributions of different groups within society. The Climate Inequality Report 2023 makes the point forcefully that there are vast historical inequalities in emissions between regions but also that there are significant inequalities between individuals, both within regions and at a global level.

In the Irish context, research commissioned by Oxfam revealed, unsurprisingly of course, that the wealthy are much more responsible for the emissions in Ireland. One only needs to look out into Dublin Bay to know how this is so. There can be seen the 110 m. super yacht, Kaos, owned by the billionaire Ms Nancy Walton Laurie, of the family that owns Walmart. In addition to yachts, private jets, helicopters, fleets of luxury vehicles all contribute massively to the billionaires' carbon footprint.

Inequality is not just about the elite billionaire and the rest, either. The top 10% of the Irish population, by income levels, emits as much as the bottom 50% of earners. It is not just consumption emissions. It is also where those very wealthy individuals invest their money. We know that many people in this country do not have any money to invest. The level of inequality in the country has a direct impact on the emissions that are produced by the individual. Sinn Féin wants to bring down our carbon emissions, which we have to do. We also need to tackle the wealth-associated emissions. Over the years, we have repeatedly called for a wealth tax. We have called for a private jet tax. We have called for the removal of tax credits on a tapered basis from individual incomes greater that €100,000. We have called for a second home levy.

We need more data if we are going to be able to develop the policies that will actually go after the emissions of the wealthy. This is so important because it would be more effective in taking climate action and bringing down those emissions that we know the wealthy are responsible for. It would also help to demonstrate that "a just transition" is not just a slogan. It is actually essential to the decarbonisation process. If we want to achieve our 2030 climate emissions targets and our 2050 net zero target, we have to bring people with us. Bringing people with us means going after those who have the luxuries of the wealthy. It is easier to achieve those emissions reductions if we cut back on the superfluous luxuries of the wealthy than on the low income and low emissions groups whose emissions are largely tied to necessities like heating and commuting. In these areas there is very little scope for people to make changes in their day to day lives. This is a theory referred to by economists as the marginal effort. In short, the emissions of the rich are the low hanging fruit. Current climate policies are not paying sufficient attention to who emits what, rich or poor. It is all based on the lowest cost approach. The recent report of the Environmental Protection Authority, EPA, exemplified that again. We need the EPA and the Central Statistics Office, CSO, to produce the data so that we can develop policy that will target the emissions of the wealthy but also bring about a real, just transition.