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Irish agriculture has become increasingly specialised in beef and dairy over the last 50 years, with horticultural production declining to less than one per cent of agricultural land.
Galway and Limerick.
The report, however, recommends
Last month, committee member Bríd Smith TD secured a late amendment to include a recommendation in the report for the State examines the potential windfall from placing a carbon tax on the fossil fuel industry.
FEATURE Climate Policy
once an evidence-based plan is in place to increase support for climate action measures including protecting those in fuel poverty.
The committee wants to see the carbon price increase subject to hypothecation – ring-fenced for a specific purpose – where funds are used to aid the transition to a low carbon economy.
An amendment from Sinn Fein last month to remove any mention of carbon taxation from the report was voted down by the majority of the Committee.
Sinn Fein and People Before Profit (PBP) voted against approval of the overall report based on their objection to the carbon tax proposals.
PBP issued a minority report yesterday that focuses largely on the party’s rationale for a carbon tax on the profits of fossil fuel companies, food production companies and industries that release large CO2 emissions.
Minority Report
Recognising this, Committee members agreed to call for the setting up of a multi-stakeholder forum to support industry diversification, including growing vegetables and alternative crops such as willow and hemp.
that further public transport projects should also be re-evaluated with a view to their inclusion after Project Ireland 2040’s mid-term review.
The report also recommends calling on the state to promote the carbon sequestration potential of land through native broadleaf woodlands, maintaining hedgerows and rewetting bogs.
The Green Party had proposed an additional recommendation for 2-to-1 spending on public transport over road infrastructure that was defeated.
The PBP report also outlines the need for a new national framework for energy systems and infrastructure as well as supporting recommendations for a just transition plan for workers in the fossil fuel sector.
Among key transport recommendations supported by the Committee are greater prioritisation of public transport under Project Ireland 2040 and greater rural public transport networks.
A second Green Party recommendation for a minimum of 10 per cent expenditure on cycling infrastructure in transport programmes was accepted by a majority of Committee members and is included in the report.
Dr Stuart Stamp, a researcher involved in a recent report on fuel poverty from the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) said that it is important to “establish the extent and nature of fuel poverty”.
Transport
There were almost 2.7 million vehicles registered in Ireland in 2017, with over half of all transport emissions coming from private car journeys.
The tax is currently set at €20 per tonne and brings in €400 million a year for the State. The report recommends that the price of carbon should increase to at least €80 per tonne by 2030 in line with the advice from the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC).
He said that the “likely impact of increased carbon taxation on all cohorts” must also be established before considering increasing carbon taxes.
Project Ireland 2040 includes a significant programme of investment in our public transport infrastructure including the Metrolink and Dart Expansion in Co Dublin and Bus Connects in counties Dublin, Cork,
The report recommends that any increase in the tax should only occur
“The adequacy and scope of fuel allowance requires review... together with income supports for those in low-paid employment,” he said.
The Committee’s report also call on the Government to facilitate active transport, namely cycling and walking, as the first priority for emissions mitigation in the sector.
A second amendment from Ms Smith that called for a similar enquiry on the profits of large agri-food producers with revenue ring-fenced for low-income farming communities was defeated.
The recommendation on carbon tax was a major sore spot during the Committee’s deliberations over the State’s future climate policy direction.
Carbon tax recommendation
Originally published by www. greennews.ie
Council Journal 17