We resume on amendment No. 152. Deputy Clare Daly is the next speaker and I note that amendments Nos. 152 to 160, inclusive, are related and are being discussed together.
Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed)
Debate resumed on amendment No. 152:
In page 22, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following:
"Reports on annual targets
16. (1) The Minister shall lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report in respect of each year in the period 2015-2050 for which an annual target has been set (a "target year").
(2) The report shall state whether the annual target for the target year has been met. If the annual target has not been met, the report shall explain the reason for same.
(3) The report shall also state whether the domestic effort target has been met in the target year to which the report relates.
(4) If the domestic effort target has not been met, the report shall explain the reason for same. The report shall also contain the information mentioned in section 17.
(5) The report under this section shall be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas no later than 31 October in the second year after the target year.".
- (Deputy Mick Wallace)
I have had ten different hats on this morning and to get my climate change one on now is going to be pretty difficult.
Ditto. It is the same all around.
We are all struggling today with the schedule going too far. We have discussed these issues at length over the course of the past week and there is grave concern on our side of the House that excluding targets and failing to put any meat on its bones makes the legislation probably worse than having nothing. I do not say that lightly. It is said very much in the context of the fact that climate change is undoubtedly one of the most significant challenges facing humanity at the moment. It is a challenge which has not been given sufficient attention by the Government or the establishment internationally. Too often, we continue to put the interests of big business and profit ahead of the needs of society. It is interesting that even elements at the top of the business world are beginning to take that point on board and acknowledging that we must do something. Putting forward a Bill which does not put meat on the bones is not adequate. We must divide out where we are setting the targets and how we are going to achieve them.
When the issue arose originally, there was a great deal of dialogue about the individual's actions and the view was that the person was responsible. In my view, society is responsible and we need to take collective measures. Transport is one of the key areas that needs to be broken down. The Government made a big fanfare about the capital programme, which we discussed yesterday, elevating rail. Rail is not being sufficiently elevated in Ireland. In fact, to grapple properly with climate change, one should have a system of free public transport to get people out of private cars. At the moment, if one lives in parts of the north side of our capital city which are not on the coastal DART line and are not connected, one is condemned to use a private car. That is not viable in the city and it is a huge cause of pollutants. We must have targets which are linked to economic policy. That is what our amendments are about. We can put forward general guidelines and blurbs about this type of thing, but if there is no meat on it, it will not be good enough. The same is true of energy where we have a backdrop of a lack of any serious programme to retrofit houses to achieve proper energy efficiency.
Climate change is particularly relevant when we consider the issue of migration. Along with our European peers, we have been grappling in the House every week since we came back with the issue of refugees from war-torn countries. Clearly, it will not just be people affected by war or economic refugees in future; the biggest group of new refugees the world will face will consist of victims of climate change. Dealing with that will be a huge consequence of climate change.
It is important that there be chapters in the legislation to deal with public bodies' duties of climate change mitigation, adaptation programmes, land use, forestry, energy efficiency, waste reduction and recycling. Scotland put the detail in its plan whereas what we have are vague aspirations and no substance. That is not good enough and will not lead to us achieving our targets.
I am conscious that many environmental groups contacted everyone and told us to get the Bill through, but something is not always better than nothing. In the absence of these amendments, the Bill is not sufficient to address key concerns and achieve what is necessary. For this reason, we will seek votes on these amendments.
We are discussing a group of amendments that would require the Minister, Deputy Kelly, to lay a range of reports in respect of domestic mitigation targets before the Houses. I have stated my position on this issue a number of times, but I will reiterate it to facilitate further progress on this important legislation. I do not accept the validity of establishing domestic mitigation targets that are divorced from the EU processes and, therefore, I cannot support the amendments. My focus is on securing enactment of the Bill as soon as possible in order that we can introduce Ireland's first national mitigation plan. In this plan, the emphasis will be on meeting our legally binding mitigation targets up to 2020 as part of the EU's effort-sharing decision, but we will also look ahead to 2030 in the new effort-sharing decision, yet to be agreed, and beyond that again to 2050 with the aim of substantially decarbonising the economy.
As we near the end of the debate on Report Stage, I restate the fact the Government has introduced a range of amendments to enhance the Bill's functions following extensive discussions on Second Stage and Committee Stage. Where reasoned and reasonable arguments have been made, the Government has listened and responded accordingly. For many years, there has been extensive debate about the shape of Ireland's first ever climate change legislation. As many Deputies have stated, action is required. The national mitigation plan will present an opportunity for all of society's stakeholders and citizens to produce a plan that is fit for purpose, sustainable and meets our needs while ensuring we reform and innovate in order that Ireland contributes significantly to the wider global challenge.
I do not agree with Deputy Clare Daly that doing nothing is sometimes better. There is a danger that if we do nothing, we will lose positive momentum on several fronts, namely, the national mitigation plan and the sectoral adaptation plans which are key to meeting the challenge facing us. We need to move on climate change now. This legislation will be an important vehicle in our delivery of that.
I thank the Minister of State but the essence of my point was that a bad Bill was worse than no Bill. No one is arguing that we do nothing. We could build on the great deal of preparatory work that has been done elsewhere. The amendments are self-explanatory, being taken from the Scottish climate change Act. Enacted six years ago, it contains copious details on how the advisory group should operate, the work it does and the content of its reports. We have tried to incorporate in this Bill that Act's chapters on the duties of public bodies. Scotland wrote the framework of its mitigation plan into law. Why are we discussing a Bill that contains no targets, details or specifics six years later? The plan, whatever it consists of, will not need to exist for another 18 months. By the time we have monitored the progress of our first mitigation plan, the EU will be knocking on our door and telling us that it is time to pay up for non-compliance. This is the backdrop to our amendments.
There is probably nothing more important than climate change. According to the European Commission, early action on climate change will save lives and money. The cost to the EU of not adapting could reach at least €100 billion per year by 2020 or €250 billion per year by 2050. Elaborating on the internationally accepted position that climate change poses a threat so serious that it could reverse the past 50 years of progress in global health and development, the European Commission stated that action on climate change would present benefits of €38 billion per year through reduced mortality rates caused by air pollution.
These are actions that we need for the good of humanity, the health of our people and the survival of the human race. The World Health Organization, WHO, has estimated that this issue is likely to cause approximately 250,000 deaths per year by 2030. This is a major challenge. It would be wrong to do nothing and that is not what we are arguing, but this Bill could be better. We owe it to the Irish people and our European counterparts.
Amendment put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 25; Níl, 61.
Tá
- Adams, Gerry.
- Boyd Barrett, Richard.
- Broughan, Thomas P.
- Collins, Niall.
- Colreavy, Michael.
- Coppinger, Ruth.
- Cowen, Barry.
- Creighton, Lucinda.
- Daly, Clare.
- Ferris, Martin.
- Halligan, John.
- Higgins, Joe.
- Keaveney, Colm.
- Kelleher, Billy.
- Kirk, Seamus.
- McGrath, Finian.
- Mathews, Peter.
- Murphy, Paul.
- Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
- Ó Cuív, Éamon.
- Ó Fearghaíl, Seán.
- Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
- Smith, Brendan.
- Stanley, Brian.
- Troy, Robert.
Níl
- Bannon, James.
- Butler, Ray.
- Buttimer, Jerry.
- Byrne, Catherine.
- Byrne, Eric.
- Carey, Joe.
- Coffey, Paudie.
- Collins, Áine.
- Connaughton, Paul J.
- Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
- Costello, Joe.
- Coveney, Simon.
- Creed, Michael.
- Daly, Jim.
- Deasy, John.
- Deenihan, Jimmy.
- Deering, Pat.
- Dowds, Robert.
- Doyle, Andrew.
- Durkan, Bernard J.
- English, Damien.
- Farrell, Alan.
- Feighan, Frank.
- Ferris, Anne.
- Fitzmaurice, Michael.
- Fitzpatrick, Peter.
- Hannigan, Dominic.
- Harrington, Noel.
- Harris, Simon.
- Humphreys, Heather.
- Keating, Derek.
- Kehoe, Paul.
- Kenny, Seán.
- Kyne, Seán.
- Lawlor, Anthony.
- Lynch, Kathleen.
- Lyons, John.
- McEntee, Helen.
- McGinley, Dinny.
- McGrath, Mattie.
- McLoughlin, Tony.
- McNamara, Michael.
- Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
- Mulherin, Michelle.
- Murphy, Eoghan.
- Naughten, Denis.
- Nolan, Derek.
- O'Donovan, Patrick.
- O'Dowd, Fergus.
- O'Mahony, John.
- O'Reilly, Joe.
- Penrose, Willie.
- Perry, John.
- Rabbitte, Pat.
- Ryan, Brendan.
- Shatter, Alan.
- Stagg, Emmet.
- Stanton, David.
- Twomey, Liam.
- Varadkar, Leo.
- Wall, Jack.
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Clare Daly and Michael Colreavy; Níl, Deputies Emmet Stagg and Paul Kehoe.
Amendment declared lost.
Debate adjourned.