System change, not climate change

Climate change is the biggest issue facing the human race. Simply put, if we do not drastically reduce our carbon emissions, we are facing extinction. More than 99 percent of climate scientists now recognise climate change as a man-made problem. People Before Profit advocate a radical series of measures to reduce our Co2 emissions:

• Achieve target level Co2 mitigation: Act now to achieve an agreed Paris target level of Co2 mitigation to limit warming below two degrees centigrade in unison with other European countries. The Climate Change Low Carbon Development 11 Bill 2015 showed Ireland is way off track and will have major challenges post-2020 in decarbonising its economy.

• Decarbonise our economy. Ireland is heavily dependent on importing fossil fuel. We must move away from this by creating a strategy that is openly and democratically debated. For our part, People Before Profit commit to a carbon-neutral economy by 2030.

• Provide proper investment in affordable and frequent public transport. Move to free public transport to get people out of cars.

• Retrofit buildings. Set up a national construction agency to retrofit homes to the highest energy efficiency standards. Provide accredited training to retrofitting workers.

• Provide substantial investment in renewable energies.

• Divest from fossil fuels: keep it in the ground.

• Continue to make Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking) illegal.

• Keep our forestry in public ownership and increase the afforestation of the country.

• Develop and expand programmes to cultivate native hard-woods.

 

Green Jobs

We need to move to a low-carbon economy driven by public investment. At present, all electricity customers must pay €38.68 a year on their bills to subsidise private firms making the transition to green energy. But why go about it in this roundabout way?
Our twin objectives are to reduce emissions and to create a Just Transition for workers, farmers and communities by ambitious public investment. We would:

• Roll out a major retrofit programme on housing to reduce energy usage. Provide state financing and funding for homeowners to retrofit. Establish accredited training schemes for retrofit workers.

• Create publicly-owned companies for solar energy and offshore wind generation.

• Support community co-operatives for local onshore wind enterprises.

• Develop a smart grid for storage and interconnection.

• Introduce payments for farmers to reforest the land: Ireland has one of the lowest levels of forest coverage in Europe and farmers struggle to make an income off the land. We would pay farmers €3,000 per hectare to reforest and tend to new native forestry – drawing down carbon and improving lives in rural Ireland.

• Expand and electrify the rail network and move to a system of free, green and frequent public transport nationwide.

To see our fully costed policy on immediate measures the Irish government needs
to take on climate change, see www.eco.pbp.ie