Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
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Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. I dtús báire ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire Stáit chuig an Teach. The Minister of State may be aware there is a European Citizens' Initiative at the moment to call on the European Commission to propose an EU legislative Act to ban sponsorships and advertisements by fossil fuel companies. We all know that fossil fuel companies are perpetuating the climate crisis and that advertising climate-damaging products leads to an uplift in their sales. If it did not, why would these companies bother spending millions of euro on ad campaigns? It is very interesting that one case study carried out by the New Weather Institute think tank found regarding a single Audi advertising campaign there was an uplift in sales of up to 132,700 cars. That led to an overall increase of greenhouse gas emissions of 5.2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent due to a single advertising campaign by the Audi car company.

We know that banning fossil fuel adverts is a no-brainer. Oil and gas companies have spent decades continuing to mislead the public and politicians on climate change and undercut global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We know that the advertising campaigns focus on idyllic images of wind turbines and solar panels being pumped into our homes, phones and streets.

I have complaints against a number of misleading advertisements in this country by companies such as Applegreen, Bord Gáis and Flogas. It is not fair leaving it to citizens and politicians to be the watchdog and take the individual complaints. Individuals cannot stem the torrent of disinformation; it is just not possible. That is why I am asking that the Government would act to cut the flow at its source.

A ban may seem like a bold move, but Ireland showed great leadership when it did that with tobacco. We can take pride that our State stood up to big tobacco. Now, we have to stand up to the big oil and gas companies by banning fossil fuel advertisements.

Fossil fuel sponsorships are also being used for political access. In 2016, an Unearthed investigation found that BP used its sponsorship deal with the British Museum and a specific Day of the Dead exhibition to further its oil plans in Mexico and Australia.Freedom of information, FOI, requests revealed that BP had sought to access Mexican and British Government figures at a private event by the British Museum as part of the BP-sponsored Day of the Dead festival just one month before bidding opened for new deepwater drilling permits controlled by the Mexican Government. There are multiple examples of fossil fuel companies using these sponsorships to advance their own business via the granted access of sponsorships. In Ireland, for example, we have the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and sponsorship of the GAA, and Mag Mell Energy and other gas companies sponsor conferences. I commend the Irish comedians Michael Fry, Hannah Mamalis and Seán Burke, who have done stellar work over recent weeks in making arguments for the European Citizens' Initiative. I do not know if the Minister of State has seen those comedians' videos but, if not, I urge him to take a look at them because they are excellent. If I have not convinced him, the Irish comedians might.

The latest figures show that thousands of Irish people have signed up to the European Citizens' Initiative. However, the proposal has to be considered at a European level, and thousands more would have to sign up at banfossilfuelads.orgin order for that to happen. At this point, therefore, we need the Government to show leadership, take that initiative, follow other European countries and ban fossil fuel adverts, rather than waiting for the European Commission to do so.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I agree wholeheartedly with all Senator Boylan has said in the sense that we know the divisiveness of advertising in general by companies that are environmentally destructive. As for attempts to compare advertising of tobacco, fast food, gambling and alcohol, they are distinctly different but similar in many ways. I will not name companies but we have seen that one company was able to rebrand itself as Beyond Petroleum for many years.

I have seen the videos the Senator spoke about and they are excellent. I welcome the fact that the Department has signed a number of European citizen initiatives, with Irish citizens also involved in signing them. I urge young people and people all over Ireland to get involved in the European Citizens' Initiative.

The matter the Senator has raised for discussion is really one for the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, but I will outline briefly, in the time I have remaining, Ireland's commitment to transitioning away from fossil fuels. It is recognised internationally that that is the best way forward. As a founder member of the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance, an international coalition of governments and stakeholders working together to facilitate the managed phase-out of oil and gas production, Ireland is committed to that initiative.

Domestically, new solid fuel regulations will come into force on 31 October and will introduce minimum quality standards that will apply to all solid fuels distributed throughout the State. That will ensure that the most polluting fuels can no longer be made available on the Irish market and will assist the public in transitioning to less polluting alternatives. The regulations also ensure that selling non-approved solid fuel products from retail premises, on the Internet or by means of other media will not be permitted. The new regulations are necessary as each year some 1,300 people die prematurely in Ireland due to air pollution from solid fuel burning. It is estimated that over 16,200 life years are lost, while many people also experience a poor quality of life due to the associated short-term and long-term health impacts of pollution. It increases hospitalisation with respiratory illnesses every year as well.

I turn now to the vast programme of work the Government is doing to rapidly replace fossils fuels in our energy system directly with renewable energy sources, led by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and his Department. It is important to emphasise the scale and ambition of the programme the Government is delivering on to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and make Ireland a world leader in the delivery of renewable energy as part of a global drive to a net-zero carbon economy.

The 2021 climate action plan sets out the roadmap to meeting Ireland's target of a 51% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2030, including a suite of measures and actions to increase the share of electricity demand generated from renewable sources to up to 80%. With the agreement of the sectoral emissions ceilings in July of this year, the Government has committed to an increase in the renewable energy targets, including additional resources for solar - more than doubling the target to 5,500 MW - and offshore, moving from 5 GW to 7 GW, with the additional 2 GW earmarked for the production of green hydrogen. The Government is committed to increasing the supply of renewable energy to our grid in line with these targets and the overriding need to accelerate the delivery of renewable energy projects in the context of energy price rises and energy market volatility.Renewable energy is critical to enabling our transition to a low-carbon economy. Ireland is a world leader in onshore wind energy and we have enormous potential to similarly become a world leader in offshore wind energy and to harness our solar energy resources, including rooftops and ground-mounted solar. I welcome the Senator bringing the issue forward. It is a matter for the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Ireland is committed to eliminating our reliance on fossil fuels. That is the way forward. The Senator made a valid point regarding how dangerous, sinister and manipulative the advertising can be. I welcome the European Citizens' Initiative and any issue the State can raise on that.

Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for endorsing and supporting the European Citizens' Initiative. I encourage anybody who has not yet done so to sign up for it. The Minister of State might have a chat with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when he sees him next and suggest that he supports a ban at state level. France and the Netherlands have done this. Lanzarote has gone one step further and banned advertisements altogether across the island, which is my preferred model. We will take it in baby steps. Fossil fuel adverts are misleading and are deliberately trying to give an impression that these companies are focusing away from fossil fuel extraction and looking at renewables when we know the reality is that a tiny percentage is focused on renewables. Theirs is a business-as-usual philosophy.

If the Minister of State wants to help and cannot get a ban over the line, he might have a chat with his Government colleagues about how we regulate advertising in this country. It is a process of self-regulation and it is cumbersome to make a complaint. It takes a long time and advertisements are rarely overturned for being misleading. At the end of the day, they have been run anyway and have done their purpose. It would be good if we could at least tighten the regulation of advertising, if not implement a ban on fossil fuel adverts.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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As a positive way forward, I support the thrust of the Senator's proposal. One way forward might be to bring the matter before the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment for discussion as well as before the Joint Committee on Climate Action. It would be worthwhile to discuss the impact of such advertising and how we could meet that challenge in an Irish context. Good work has been done in recent years on restricting gambling advertising and advertising in respect of alcohol, and the harm that is doing. A discussion at both those committees, for starters, would be a positive step forward in trying to address the issue. As I said at the outset, I see how sinister and manipulative the advertising can be as companies scramble when they see their business model is failing. It is important that we have these discussions.