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Dáil
‹ An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

Climate action and public communication

Summary

Deputy Leddin said Ireland needed better communication about climate action and the local changes it requires. The Taoiseach agreed, citing the urgency of climate change and the need for measures such as offshore wind, retrofitting and EV programmes.

I commend the Taoiseach on the genuine and effective leadership he showed on the international stage last week. He told the international community that we do not have a minute to lose in our efforts to combat climate change. There is a missing piece in this country in how we communicate the importance of climate change to our communities across the country. Climate action at ground level means bringing in different policies that affect people's lives. This may relate to land, transport, bus lanes and cycle lanes. These are very difficult and challenging problems at local level. There is a link between that action and addressing the worst impacts of climate change. We are missing a piece in how we communicate the importance of climate action at the local level.

Comment on this

I agree with the Deputy. One of the great takeaways from COP27 is the immediacy of climate change now. It is not something on the distant horizon and we have seen devastating weather events that can occur because of climate change. The presentations from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Somalia and the small island states of the Pacific all reveal the immediate consequences of this. Personal behaviour change is key. Collectively we need to focus on offshore wind energy, for example, the national retrofitting programme and the electric vehicle, EV, programme. We can make great progress. I was reading a book last evening and we sometimes forget the progress we have made on renewable energy with increases in onshore wind energy. I think it was 1% of electricity generation at the beginning of this century and it is close to 43% now. It is the same with recycling of plastic, for example, with the plastic bag levy. It shows that we can do it.

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