Climate Change Negotiations
Dail Éireann — 2023-12-12
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Alan Farrell (FG), Dublin Fingal

The draft text released last night by the COP presidency is beyond disappointing. For it to state that "reducing both consumption and production of fossil fuel in a just, orderly and equitable manner so as to achieve net zero by, before, or around 2050 in keeping with the science", is quite a disappointment in the context of the action that is required. The main issue that I have with that is the term "or around", and then a cop-out reference to the science, which was just thrown in for good measure.
I have serious misgivings about the organisation of the conference and its being hosted in an oil-producing country, not because I do not think we should do that in the future - I do - but we have to come to a global consensus on the meaningful decisions that have to be made by the entire global community as quickly as we possibly can. I endorse what Deputy Durkan has said regarding this State's role in weaning our citizenry off fossil fuels and accelerating the programme in that regard.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2023-12-12/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:52:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2023-12-12