Over the past two years the chief focus of Government has rightly been on the very challenging task of stabilising the public finances and the banking sector in order to generate the necessary conditions to promote the overriding imperative of job creation.

Against this background, and despite being somewhat drowned out by the current difficulties in the global economy which has caused it to slip in the media agenda and the public consciousness, the huge issue of anthropogenic Climate Change has not gone away. Furthermore, in late 2009 we had the disappointment of Copenhagen and, of course, the so-called ‘Climate Gate Scandal’ which, in a time of deepening economic crisis, served to increase public scepticism and apathy towards the Climate Change agenda.

This December the international community will once again assemble in Cancun, Mexico for the 16th Conference of the Parties and, once again, the stakes could not be higher in the search for a binding global agreement in an attempt to prevent runaway climate change for which there is not a moment to lose and the very narrow window of opportunity for the world to act is closing very fast.

Despite the fact that Climate Change has fallen down the domestic agenda the latest international scientific evidence has powerfully reinforced that Climate Change is by far-and-away the greatest threat to our natural environment, social well-being and economic future.

Both the scale of actions required and the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions have no policy parallel outside of wartime. The first six months of 2010 - which includes the prolonged cold snap in Europe and parts of the US - is now officially the hottest half-year since records began. In fact, the 11 hottest years since accurate global recording began in 1880 have all been in the last 13 years.

As we grapple with our very serious and pressing economic issues at home it is often easy to forget that, despite some very severe weather events particularly in the past year, Ireland’s fortunate geographic location and temperate climate currently insulates us to a large degree from the most severe impacts of Climate Change.

However, many millions of people, particularly poor people who contributed the least to the problem of anthropogenic climate change, are already coping with and bearing the brunt of the impacts of global warming. From increasing droughts to increasing floods, from lower agricultural productivity to more frequent and severe heat waves and storms, many rightly fear that things will only get worse. The unprecedented severe flooding in Pakistan and the record temperatures in Russia are a recent case in point.

For Climate Change is also a significant international and inter-generational human rights issue. As former UN Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson has stated in the past, the negative impacts on people of changes in climate do not always involve horrific headlines and images of hurricanes, floods or refugee camps.

More commonly, they will be cumulative and unspectacular. Those who are already poor and vulnerable with the least resilience to adapt are and will continue to be disproportionately affected. Carbon emissions from industrialised countries have human and environmental consequences. As a result, global warming has already begun to affect the fulfillment of international commitments to human rights, and to the extent that polluting greenhouse gases continue to be released by large industrial countries, the basic human rights of millions of the world's poor to life, security, food, health and shelter will continue to be violated.

So how do we renew and reinvigorate the Climate Change agenda here at home in Ireland?

Firstly, we must continuosly link the debate to Ireland’s other major overarching challenge – energy security and, in particular, our heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels. There are two issues in relation to our consumption of fossil fuels.

The first of these is the very significant contribution they make both directly and indirectly to increases in greenhouse gas emissions. The second is in relation to the fact that fossil fuels are not renewable energy sources.

A host of international studies, most notably a recent report by LIoyds Bank and the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security, has predicted that global oil production is set to imminently peak and that serious supply constraints and an oil supply crunch is likely in the short-to-medium term. As a consequence, fossil fuel energy is about to become increasingly scarce and therefore increasingly expensive. It is clear that the ‘era of cheap oil is over’.

Ireland is particularly vulnerable to oil depletion as we are amongst the most oil dependent economies in the world. Without mitigation rising oil prices and energy price volatility will have huge systemic implications for our economy and our society. It will mean higher energy bills, higher production costs, undermine Irish competitiveness, risk sustainable employment creation and result in both higher prices for food and resource scarcities. This situation is likely to be exacerbated by the globalised nature of food markets and supply chains, a trend that has decreased local resilience to respond by decreasing local capacity to produce its own food and resources.
Secondly, as we have heard throughout today, within this new energy future there are major new competitive advantages and opportunities for Ireland in the Green Economy. In particular, capitalising on our unrivalled stock of natural resource endowments in agriculture and renewables together with our international ‘green’ brand and image.

Mitigating and adapting to Climate Change does not therefore mean that a constraint is placed on economic activity. Rather the opposite is true. The impending reality of Peak Oil and our binding EU Climate Change commitments places a huge onus of responsibility on Government to facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy to safeguard the future of the Irish economy and Irish jobs.

A particular case in point, partly in my own area of responsibility as Minister of State with responsibility for Horticulture, is the recent publication of Food Harvest 2020 – A Vision for Irish Agri-Food and Fisheries based on the principles of ‘Smart – Green – Growth’.

Rural Ireland has been particularly adversely affected by the downturn of the construction sector.  Food Harvest outlines the major employment and economic opportunities that can be exploited by Irish agriculture and by primary producers in particular.

The Strategy envisages:

·    Increasing the value of primary output in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector by €1.5 billion;
·    Increasing the value-added in the agri-food, fisheries and wood products sector by €3 billion;
·    Achieving an export target of €12 billion for the sector; and,
·    14,000 full-time equivalent jobs by 2020 in sea fisheries and aquaculture.

A key component of unlocking this potential is to provide a Sustainabilty Certification for Irish produce and, as this is Organic Week, I might add that organic produce is the most sustainable form of agricultural production and already carries certification. So you can be confident that when purchasing Irish organic products you are encouraging the development of resilience in Irish food production.

Of course, capitalising on Ireland’s green image and reaping the employment benefits can only be sustained if the reality matches the brand. This will require sustained investment and employment opportunities in renewable energy, water services, waste management, green infrastructure and sustainable transport to ensure sustainable long-term economic prosperity.

One of the key challenges for Ireland will be in the transport sector, where we are massively dependent on imported fuel and where our carbon emissions have risen dramatically. From 1998 to 2006, emissions rose by 88% in the transport sector and in the same year energy use in transport was over 99% dependent on oil products (SEAI), underscoring our vulnerability to prolonged energy shocks.
 
We have set ambitious target to reduce that dependency and have taken action to implement the policies to move us away from fossil fuel dependency.
 
We have set a target of having 10% of the car fleet electric by 2020. In April of this year, the Government commenced a partnership with ESB and a Renault-Nissan Alliance to roll out charging infrastructure and a vehicle fleet. Under the plans, 3,500 charging points and 2,000 cars will be in place by the end of next year. Buying an electric vehicle will also be granted aided up to €5,000.
 
Coupled with our progress in developing renewable energy production, we can move to power our cars through renewable electricity and simultaneously reduce our dependency on imported fuel. This leaves us less vulnerable to oil shocks as well as reducing emissions in the transport sector.
 
Moving to electric cars is only part of the solution. Our commuting habits have to shift away from the car as the transport mode of choice. As Minister of State with responsibility for sustainable transport, I'm implementing policies to encourage that shift through Smarter Travel, Government's transport policy.
 
Increasing bus priority in our towns and cities, investment in rail infrastructure and the creation of a strong cycling culture have to be cornerstones in attracting commuters out of their cars and crating new jobs.
 
The focus of capital investment over the coming years is for public transport projects such as Dart Interconnector and Metro North. The National Cycling policy is making great strides in promoting the bike as the mode of choice for short journeys. Long awaited investment in integrated ticketing and bus real time passenger information will, finally, soon bear fruit.
 
Tilting the balance in favour of these sustainable transport modes will again reduce emissions and wean our dependency off imported fuels.

Facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy requires both ‘push’ and ‘pull’ policy mechanisms. My colleague, Minister John Gormley, in his opening address outlined the significant capital investments being made and initiatives being pursued by Government to promote private sector investment and employment in the Green Economy and green jobs.

However, price signals are also imperative to expedite and facilitate this transition and to ensure early first-mover competitive advantage for Ireland. Smart resource taxes, such as the Carbon Tax, are a progressive and an entirely necessary part of the policy instrument mix. Smart taxes influence consumer behaviour and allow individual consumers to make smart choices saving them money in the long-term, insulating them from the impacts of Peak Oil and further reinforcing business investment, securing jobs and creating new employment opportunities.

Of equal importance is the enactment of a comprehensive Climate Change Act for Ireland. Ireland has a binding EU commitment to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 20% from 1990 levels by 2020 and to increase our use of renewable energy by 20%. The EU remains deeply committed to Climate Change and is currently examining the potential for a step-up to a 30% reduction target.

Placing Ireland’s EU commitments on a statutory legislative footing with annual greenhouse gas reduction targets would have significant benefits for Ireland. In the first instance, it would provide certainty for business investors that Ireland is serious about moving to a low-carbon economy and setting Ireland up, given our significant natural resource endowments, with a strong first mover competitive advantage and as a magnet for international investment and innovation in the Green Economy.

Secondly, it would send a clear signal to the rest of the world and the EU that Ireland is ready to take the action required to fulfill our international obligations to play our part in the solution to global warming building on our strong historic commitment to international human rights. It will set Ireland on the correct emission reduction trajectory a decade in advance of when the achievement our binding EU targets will fall due.

Thirdly, in the likelihood that the EU will move to a 30% reduction target it will strengthen our hand in EU negotiations given that we will have demonstrated a responsible position in enshrining our reduction targets in law. For too long, Ireland has adopted a reactive strategy in EU negotiations, which has not served us well. It is time we looked to the future and adopted a responsible proactive stance to anticipate future trends and safeguard our economic future.

As Minister of State with responsibility for Climate Change I hope to advance the Climate Change Bill during the Autumn session of the Oireachtas which aims to transition Ireland to a low-carbon, resource-efficient, environmentally sustainable and climate resilient economy and with a view to establishing a strong Irish position in advance of the Cancun COP in December.

Planning is critical to mitigating climate change and adapting to the effects of Peak Oil. The Hirsch Report commissioned by the US Department of Energy in 2005 concluded that to have substantial impact demand-side and supply-side mitigation measures must be initiated more than a decade in advance of peaking.

A strong plan-led system can make a major contribution by shaping decisions, which reduce carbon emissions and positively build community resilience. It is a pivotal delivery framework for energy demand reduction and renewable energy and for addressing problems such as flood risk management.

Planning has the strong potential to get the right development in the right place, in a fair, evidence based and transparent way – informed by the imperative of sustainable development. This process can play an important role in behavioural change by influencing, for example, travel patterns. Planning can – with the right corporate and political support – be part of the solution to climate challenge and Peak Oil.

Both I and my colleague Minister Gormley have placed particular emphasis on the pressing need to strengthen the national planning policy and legislative framework so that it truly reflects the overwhelming public interest in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to energy price inflation but also in protecting other key environmental resources such as water quality, landscape character and biodiversity.

The enactment of the Planning & Development (Amendment) Act 2010 in July this year represents a significant step forward in placing sustainability considerations at the heart of the Irish land-use planning system.

The comprehensive new legislation also removes the significant legislative loopholes that prevented the planning system from acting as a counter-balance to the worst excesses of the property bubble. The centrepiece of the new legislation is the introduction of a requirement that each and every development plan prepared by local authorities must include a ‘Core Strategy’. The new ‘Core Strategy’ provision will require development plans to include of a statement of compliance demonstrating how the policies and objectives of the development plan are consistent with national and regional spatial planning policy. This will ensure that all future zoning decisions and local planning policies are evidence-based; work towards the wider interests of the common good of the region and the State; maximise Exchequer investment in infrastructure and services; and are grounded in the principles of sustainable development.

For the first time in Irish legislation the new Planning Act introduces a definition of ‘Anthropogenic Green House Gas Emissions’ and specific mandatory objectives for development plans with respect to greenhouse gas emission abatement, reduced energy demand from non-renewable sources and the necessity for adaptation to the effects of climate change.  These initiatives are part of a package of measures to integrate climate change and energy considerations into all policy at national, regional and local levels.  The new legislation also requires all local authority development plans to include mandatory objectives in respect of the Water Framework Directive, Green Infrastructure, Flood Risk Management and Habitat Protection.

Ultimately, these measures will help to stimulate the green economy and create green jobs.

I fully understand that in the midst of an economic recession where many businesses and people are jaded and struggling financially and many people are out of work the pressing political issue of creating employment is paramount and that employment opportunities in the Green Economy cannot come soon enough. Furthermore, the introduction of new resource taxes – such as a Carbon Tax or Water Charges – key pillars in the creation in the Green Economy - may seem to many to be unwarranted and politically unpopular at this time. However, it is very important to note that the income generated by such smart tax an initiatives are ring-fenced and recycled back into the real economy creating and protecting real jobs (e.g warmer homes/insulation etc).
 
There has been much talk recently of the chronic short-termism that gripped Irish society over the past decade in banking, property development and Government policy. There are no short-term quick-fix answers - in the opportunity afforded by the economic crisis it is now time to take a long-term view with a keen eye to future trends. In the context of Climate Change and Peak Oil past performance of the Irish economy is not a reliable guide to future performance. Failure for Government to expedite the transition to a low-carbon green economy would – to use a motoring analogy - be akin to putting our foot on the accelerator and only looking in the rear view mirror – a crash is inevitable.