I listened to the speeches from Paris yesterday. They were passionate and inspiring, and were saying all the right things. However, saying is one thing and doing is something else. We know that climate change is happening, we know that it is extremely dangerous and we know the negotiations have been going on for over 20 years. As there has been mainly talk the reality is very grim. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tells us that, if we continue as we are, 50 million more people will be at risk of hunger by 2050, and the World Bank states that, in 15 years time, 100 million more are going to join those who are already in extreme poverty. When we look at the CO2 emissions in metric tonnes per capita, Uganda at 0.1, India at 1.2 and Ireland at 10.5.

We know those countries which contribute least to greenhouse gases are the most impacted by climate change, and they are already suffering conflict, hunger, desperate poverty and ill-health. We also know that it is human activities in the developed world, such as burning fossil fuels and emissions, that are the main causes of global warning. We have so much evidence of the devastating effects. Ban Ki-moon said yesterday that bold climate action is in the national interest of every single country represented but the submitted pledges are not enough to keep warming below 2°C and the EU's pledge of at least a 40% reduction is too low and should be 55%.

My question relates to finance. We made no contribution in 2015 to the Green Climate Fund and while we have pledged €2 million in the 2016 budget, there is nothing for subsequent years. The average EU pledge is $12 per capita, whereas ours translates to 50 cent. Was Ireland's contribution to the Green Climate Fund not discussed at Cabinet level before the Taoiseach went to Paris? Will we commit to the fund in line with pledges made by similar developed countries? Will we consider the climate justice fund which was recommended by the environment committee in 2013, especially as the Taoiseach himself committed to climate justice?

The situation that applied in Paris at the climate change meeting yesterday was unprecedented in its seriousness. It was very different to what happened in Copenhagen, which had not been as well planned or thought-out in terms of what is to happen. What was involved yesterday was the setting out of a road map for the future, led by the great powers of the world and the leaders of the governments. That road map is to be filled in over the next two weeks by the officials, the diplomats and the Ministers of the different governments in respect of the issues they point out as being of importance.

The Deputy mentioned a number of countries. I spoke to the former Uachtaráin, Mary Robinson, at the meeting. While she was not directly involved in the negotiations, as the Deputy knows, she is an ambassador for climate change. The former President's real priorities are climate justice, human rights and gender and education. I support that very strongly and referred to it in my contribution to the meeting.

It is important to state that Ireland has given €34 million in respect of public finance for climate change. We have signed on for the green fund and will increase our contributions to that over the coming years, as well as in respect of the developing countries. I make the point that, irrespective of how difficult the situation has been in the last number of years, Ireland, and in particular those who work in the different sectors and regions around the world, have put together a very high reputation in terms of the work our people do with the peoples of different countries, many of them in exceptionally difficult circumstances.

With regard to the Deputy's point about the changes that are coming in the next 50 years, it is important to note the population of the world is expected to grow to 10 billion. Those people have to be fed, so food security is of critical importance. There is a balance between what we can produce and how we can have the transfer of smart technology, in the agri-sector in particular, so that other countries can avail of this. To take the case of Syria, it has other problems due to the increase in temperature and the drought in recent years. Without any other conflict or brutal regime, people in their thousands have had to move from what were formerly food producing areas to cities because of the change in temperature. That is not unique to that country and applies in so many others as well.

We are committed to contributing to the green fund and committed to increasing our initial contribution over the coming years. As the economy improves and strengthens we will take those things into account.

I am not sure NGOs such as Trócaire, Oxfam and Friends of the Earth will take much heart from what the Taoiseach has just said. On Leaders' Questions some months ago, the Taoiseach said to me: "[W]e must challenge ourselves in measuring up and being recognised as a country that really is fulfilling obligations in respect of climate change". The one positive thing that came from what the Taoiseach was saying yesterday was that Ireland would be involved in legally binding agreements. However, that is not much if those agreements are diluted.

What is needed in the agreements is that human rights are integrated in all climate-related actions. We have to commit to food security, not just an increase in industrial food production. There can be no ambiguity around emissions. We need a 100% renewables goal and the phasing out of fossil fuels because the biofuel strategy has been a disaster in some countries. We also need independent assessment of the individual country commitments, with the assessment to begin in 2018 with regular reviews.

Ireland has got considerable praise for securing international agreement on the Sustainable Development Goals, ten of the 17 of which are about climate change. We are acknowledged as a champion in countering hunger but unless we walk the walk on climate change, we are guilty of being hypocritical. It raises a question about policy coherence that on the one hand, we are going to give development aid, which gives us a feel-good factor and on the other hand, we are taking back in that we are not delivering on climate change. What do we do? Will we just keep giving foreign aid and pay millions, if not billions, in fines to the EU because we are not meeting targets? Environmental sustainability has to be an indicator of progress, both nationally and globally. Will we commit to that?

That is an important point and the Deputy has made a valid contribution. The situation is that our profile in terms of what we produce and can produce from the agri-sector is disproportionate to other countries. No other country, with the exceptions of New Zealand, Uruguay and, to an extent, Denmark, match Ireland's profile in this regard. The point is that the targets set for Ireland of a 20% reduction by 2020 on 2005 figures are not realisable. They are not realisable because the European Commission overestimated the extent of what could come from the agriculture sector and the fact we have had a lost decade of investment in research, innovation and changes to deal with this.

Whatever the level possible of our achievements by 2020, what we need is not a way out nor an escape clause but an understanding that we will meet targets that are achievable, fair and sustainable. However, we are going to need some time to do that from 2020. If the current situation applies and the 2020 targets - which we will not be able to meet - are imposed on Ireland, whoever is in government in the years between 2020 and 2030 could suffer very serious fines. My point is that while we will not be able to meet all of the targets set for 2020, as the economy improves we will be able to catch up much more rapidly than others because we are doing the research and bringing in innovative smart technology in the agri-sector. Also, the fact is that we can produce so much more high quality food to feed people in other places and the research and the technology that we use can be transferred to others.

I listened to a view expressed this morning that the 45,000 beef farms we have in this country, whose carbon footprints are now all being calculated, should be planted with forestry instead. If we followed that line of logic, we would decrease the capacity to produce food by thousands of tonnes and would transfer the opportunity for more rain forests to be demolished and levelled for food to be produced to inferior standards with much higher emissions. Balance and common sense is required here. I am all for ambitious targets but I want targets that we can achieve. In that sense, we need to have some hard bargaining to reach an understanding with the European Commission within the next fortnight. These targets will be set down by mid-February and once set down, they will be exceptionally difficult to change.

For the reasons I have given, what was put on Ireland's plate when these targets were set originally is not acceptable to me or to the Government because they are unachievable. We want to achieve targets that are fair and sustainable and which take into account what we can supply to other countries in terms of education, research, innovation, knowledge and food.