Building the green economy, reskilling and upskilling workers, investing in biogas and biomass energy and retrofitting homes across Ireland are just some of the proposals Sinn Féin has made to deliver action on tackling climate change. This comes after two radical climate change bills have been introduced by the party on solar panels and micro generation. As Sinn Féin’s David Cullinane takes on the Climate Change portfolio, BRIAN STANLEY TD outlines the critical work done so far on this issue.
A JUST TRANSITION TO A
GREEN EC Climate Action should not be viewed as a burden. It should be viewed as an opportunity to create a more sustainable, greener economy for everyone. To do that, however, we have no option but to radically transform our society and our economy. Sinn Féin is fully committed to climate action. We are dedicated to action that is both ambitious and based upon fairness and justice. That means that all climate action must be built within a framework of a ‘Just Transition’. No worker, family or community can be left behind in our transition towards a sustainable, green economy. Climate action presents us with a fantastic opportunity to invest in towns and villages across Ireland which have been neglected for a very long time. We need a genuine
We cannot allow climate action to turn into some sort of green austerity where carbon taxes are increased and workers lose their jobs without being re-skilled into green alternatives transformation to revitalise rural communities and to regenerate our local economies. We cannot allow climate action to turn into some sort of green austerity where carbon taxes are increased and workers lose their jobs without being re-skilled into green energy alternatives such as wind, solar or biofuel. Take Bord na Móna for example. Only a few weeks ago, we heard the news that 200 Bord na Móna workers have been made redundant since January 2019, with a further 240 workers set to lose their jobs by the end of the year.
12
N
MY
How are we going to transition away from our reliance upon carbon towards a green economy if we can’t bring ordinary working people with us? It doesn’t have to be this way. What we need is a major capital stimulus package into Biofuel plants such as Biogas and Biomass. We need to invest in both offshore and onshore wind. If we invest in those two renewable energy sources we can reach 80% renewable energy by 2030 and provide up to 40,000 net jobs across Ireland in green energy. Take Biogas for example – a renewable, indigenous energy source that can reduce our emissions and make up 20% of our energy mix. Ireland currently only has 1 biogas plant. Germany has over 6,000 plants, while England has 600. This is despite the fact that Ireland has huge potential in this sector due to our agricultural waste which can be used to generate energy. To take advantage of energy sources such as Biogas, we will need to divest from brown energy and that does mean that those jobs in peat production at Bord na Móna will be gone. It is therefore essential for those workers, their families and their local communities that we transition those jobs into alternative employment. That is why Sinn Féin is proposing that Bord na Móna become the heart of Ireland’s green economy supported by a Just Transition Fund. This Just Transition Fund will be tasked with preparing households, workers, communities and businesses for a green transition. That means the state, through Bord na Móna, pro-actively going into communities and talking to families about how the state can support households with insulation and retrofitting plans. The cost of a deep retrofit ranges from €30,000 to €75,000 or more. This cannot be left to the mercy of the private market; families cannot be left with a green mortgage. It means talking to workers about what new areas of green employment they can move into. Take motor mechanics for example; they will need to be transitioned and re-skilled for
ISSUE NUMBER 3 – 2019 - UIMHIR EISIÚNA 3 anphoblacht
