Mrs. Mary Robinson:

Gabhaim buíochas libh go léir. I thank all Members, especially for their kind remarks. It is interesting to listen because we all need somebody to inspire us. If I have inspired some of the Members, that is the way it goes. I appreciate their remarks.

I want to deal with a number of really important issues that have been raised, first of all, the importance of hope. This was emphasised by a number of Members. Senator Chambers started with it. That is what I am trying to say. We need to change the narrative. The narrative we need is that we are on the cusp of this much healthier, much better, much safer, much fairer, cleaner, renewable energy world. We are almost there, we just need to get there. However, the science is telling us we need to move faster. We know ourselves that we need to go from the 29% to the 51% reductions. I agree with Alice - I will call her Alice because we know each other well - that it is not an option. We actually need to do it, even though it seems hard now. What I would say to Senator Garvey is that every party needs to be a Green Party, and every job needs to be a green job. Everything we do needs to be there to precisely change and make sure that we do achieve what we want.

I was so glad that so many of you raised just transition. We are in the period now of just transition. It is absolutely vital. I did not speak about it at length, earlier.I often speak about just transition out, which is the just transition out of fossil fuel, and remembering the workers and their communities. We had that with turf in the midlands. We have a just transition fund, etc. I am glad to see that it is mainly grant money. It is probably not enough for those who are there but at least it is a good effort. We do not see enough just transition out globally at the moment. It is a big problem. However, we also need just transition in to affordable, accessible, renewable energy and to the kind of regeneration of our soil, our land and encouraging farmers. I very much agree with that phrase "sustainable and viable" rural communities. In many ways, they should be all the more sustainable because of the possibility of the Internet and of communications and yet we are not seeing that. It is true that I keep hearing that farmers feel the obligation and the burden, as opposed to that they are part of the solution and have to be moved with as part of the solution. However, there are different farmers. There are the big farmers who have to address policy issues - and with whom the Government has to address policy issues - and they have to change more.

I am very pleased that so many of the Members mentioned refugees. Again, we need to learn to manage much better now those who are coming into our country and into Europe because that number is going to grow very significantly, inevitably, because of the climate shocks. People are already moving within their own countries. They will be moving out because extreme flooding and drought will drive them and we have to be ready for those problems. There needs to be far more of a focus on real management.

I want to reflect on the points that were made in terms of thinking of how to create solutions, if I can put it that way. When The Elders met with the Minister of Finance in Brazil, to go back to the first place I went to, I asked him - because Brazil is chair of the G20 - to invite Carlos Nobre, the great Brazilian scientist, to open the meeting of G20 finance ministers. That is really significant because those countries are the big emitters. If the ministers of finance of the big emitters hear the science presented in a way that really brings home the urgency, that will make a difference. I was thinking back to the time of Covid. Members will remember how the Chief Medical Officer had a very special role in warning us about the situation. We need to somehow have a chief scientist or scientist council that really matters and is really listened to and that talks to us about how we make that progress.

Most of all, I come back to the hope. Most of all, we need a positive narrative that says we are on the cusp and we are going to get there. We are going to get there in Ireland because we will alert communities and local authorities to their roles and we will shift some funding. I have said it before and I will say it here: if necessary let us borrow some of the money of our children and our grandchildren because if we do not, they may not have a good future. Think about it: they may not have a livable future if we do not do enough now. Let us really have that positive narrative and have that sense that we are going to get there. We are going to do it because it will be better for the country.

A number of speakers mentioned the bigger countries that are not doing enough. Let me say that China is doing a huge amount. It is also going into and staying in coal in a very big way but it is the leader on all the clean energy. It is the leader on solar, on wind and on electric vehicles. Now Europe is putting up protective barriers to Chinese technology because China has put its government's money in and it is incentivised. The United States is incentivising through its inflation reduction Act, which I will never call by its initials. I always have to remember that very strange name for climate legislation. That is incentivising the United States. They are going hell for leather now on solar, on green hydrogen and on battery retention. The changes that are taking place are immense but the US is not paying enough for climate finance. It is not taking its responsibility there. It is also not cutting its emissions enough. It is still allowing oil, gas and coal companies to behave as if they were necessary to the future, which they are not. Even there, the phasing out must be with just transition and it must be done with money and resources for the workers and their communities that are affected.

It has been a very interesting opportunity for me to hear the thoughts of the Senators on the European and local elections we have just had because we are going to face other elections. We have to change the narrative. We have to get over this. We have to stop the naysayers and realise we are actually all on the same side, and it is the side that has to win. We have to be thinking of the next generation and we have to do it with that sense of excitement I had in Ballina. There was just a lovely spirit in that conference because everybody was involved in the activity they were proud of. We have to move that way and have local self-development in the country, stimulated by the Senators and by others. It is not the responsibility of any particular Government; it is the responsibility of everybody. It is the responsibility of all of the country of this stage and it is urgent as it could be.

I thank the Seanad for the opportunity to speak with the passion I feel. It is not often I can let fly like this but I feel this is the place to do it. I loved being a Senator and being in the Seanad. I can see the seriousness of purpose with which the Senators have all spoken. I hope together we can change the narrative and make it a hopeful way forward that involves and engages everybody, that has young people involved, and that really makes us feel excited about this future that we need to imagine and rush towards. That is what we need to do. Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.