Recognising climate change is fine – but where’s the action?

World of Politics with Harry McGee – harrymcgee@gmail.com

It was a memorable Dáil contribution – admittedly for many of the wrong reasons.  But Danny Healy Rae’s denials on climate changewere delivered with that mellifluous Kerry accent and the kind of Hiberno-Irish that died out in many parts of the country half a century ago.

“God above is in charge of the weather and we here can’t do anything about it,” he told the Dáil.

He said there was one year during the 19th century ‘when the sun didn’t shine at all’.

Irish politics has, of course, moved beyond climate change denial, bar the odd poetic outburst from Danny Healy Rae. Everybody agrees that our emissions are too high and that something must be done to bring Ireland back to compliance with our obligations to the EU, and to the 2050 aims of the Paris Accord.

But not totally. Healy Rae’s argument about diesel prices and commuters did not fall on deaf ears.

In general, though, it is an urgent issue, no more so than for the young, there is no doubt about that. Tens of thousands of students protested in Irish cities and towns on March 15 in an impressive display of concern and frustration.

Their protests were praised by the political class – how often does Leo Vardkar and his Ministers admit that we continue to be ‘laggards’ when it comes to climate change?

But when we start seeking a remedy that’s where politicians have quickly run out of road. Governments have been slow to grasp the nettle, especially in terms of tackling agriculture emissions and in imposing carbon taxes.

Of course, there is a problem with numbers. The Government does not have anything like a majority so making tough decisions (ones that hurt people in their pocket) is just very difficult.

Not for the first time in this Oireachtas term, it has come up with a novel (and effective) way of dealing with troublesome issues. It has gone the route of, firstly, a Citizens’ Assembly consideration, and then an ‘ad hoc’ Oireachtas committee.

The committee, chaired by Galway West Deputy Hildegarde Naughton has done a highly effective job and come up with some excellent proposals in a report published this Thursday.

They have included some tough measures on agriculture and lofty ambition on renewables.

However, the fault line has been carbon tax. And there are a couple of different strands of opinion behind that.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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