Latest IPCC report reveals time is running out to meet Paris targets says Bacik

•         Labour pledges support for real and immediate national effort

Labour Party Leader, Ivana Bacik, has today (Monday, 4th April) said that the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on mitigation confirmed that time is running out to save the planet and that meeting Paris Agreement targets require a real and immediate national effort.

Speaking in reaction to the report Deputy Bacik said:

“The Dáil has already declared a climate and biodiversity emergency.  Labour views these challenges as interlinked and we will not play politics with our planet. This is an immediate and critical issue for Ireland.  Over the weekend, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed the extent of the emissions bounce-back in this country. This is not a problem for others to solve. It is on us and we need to see real action now.

“Since becoming leader, I have been vocal in my support for the efforts made by the Green Party in Government, but they are not doing enough to convince their coalition partners to step up in a real national effort to meet our targets. Business as usual is not an option and failure to confront these challenges head on will leave an appalling legacy for our children. It is critically important that whatever decisions we take during the current energy crisis do not extend the life of fossil fuels usage in this country.  We have the capacity to be a global energy superpower.  We owe it to the world to become one.

“The recent failure of the Climate Action Delivery Board to meet last year is a serious cause for concern about how climate policy is being driven from within Government.  We desperately need to get climate governance right.  The Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure cannot be allowed to be bystanders in this process.  This transition is economic.  It is not simply a matter for the Department of the Environment. We need speedy progress on the sectoral carbon budgets process as set out in the Climate Act and a whole of Government approach. An updated climate adaptation plan is essential to meet the challenges ahead.  Our most recent plan is now five years old. We need to accelerate the rollout of renewable energy.  The sector has been clear about both the potential and challenges ahead.  We need to address them head on.

“We must immediately move to set up the Just Transition Commission that can manage our transition to our decarbonised future as demanded by the Just Transition Alliance and to meet the challenge for the less well-off identified in the recent DCU/CLM Climate report.”