Malcolm Noonan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I wish to be associated with the comments made by Senator Andrews.

This morning, the Climate Change Advisory Council and the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council published a joint report. They pulled no punches by calling giving it the title A colossal missed opportunity. I have seen titles on other reports, but that really cuts to the chase. The report anticipates, with a wide degree of variance, that there are potential fines for Ireland of between €8 billion and €26 billion for overshooting on targets relating to transport, buildings, small industry, waste and agriculture.

We are likely to fall well short. In the previous programme for Government there was a lot of questioning of the reason we fought so hard to get to 7%, but we did so to meet basic requirements under international law for the Irish Government. We made significant progress, but it concerns me that the commitments that were made and a lot of the heavy lifting that was done by the previous Government might be dropped this time. This report might focus minds on what needs to be done and about the trajectory of the work that needs to continue over the next five to ten years. If we do not act, the consequences could be devastating.

There are significant challenges for Ireland in many sectors due to effort-sharing regulations and the land use, land use change, and forestry, LULUCF, as we are not on track in regard to these areas; neither are we on track with the energy efficiency directive. We are going to fall well short of the targets in all of these areas. 2030 is coming towards us like a fast train in a very short period.

The report gives Ireland two options. First, we could buy the allowances and buy our way out it. Ireland has set aside a potential loss of revenue from carbon credits of €500 million that we are entitled to sell, Second, we could just knuckle down and start to hit those targets. It is very important that collectively here in this House, although the particular responsibility lies with the Government, we ensure there is a capital spend of 10% over the next five years, which could help us to achieve that.

It is not just that, as the report also outlines co-benefits to the country in terms of energy security, the economy, and making our homes warmer. That will help all of us. We can also look at the cost of the storms. We had a very good debate here on Storm Éowyn last week. We are likely to be further hit by an increase in such weather events. If it is okay, I will make one further point, which was discussed in the debate. I refer to the calls in this House and from around the country for generators for communities. Councillor Pádraig McEvoy from Kildare County Council contacted me about the community in Clane, which wants to buy battery storage. That is an important issue. For the same outlay as we could have on running generators, we could have battery storage in all of our communities. We should pursue that. Communities in Midleton, County Cork, and in Leitrim are also doing this. This report is a wake-up call to us all. I urge the Government to act on the findings of the report.