Crowd protests limbo of climate Bill

A vigil in favour of passing a climate Bill to effectively ban oil and gas exploration in the Republic was held on Tuesday outside Leinster House.

The Climate Emergency Measures Bill is in the Third Stage of the Dáil and is being examined by a joint committee currently tied six in favour and six against progression of the Bill. Afinal decision is expected by Tuesday evening.

“This would send a very strong message to the fossil fuel industry that it’s no longer acceptable to keep extracting oil and gas from the planet and expect the issue of the overheating of the planet to resolve itself,” said People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith at the vigil.

Smith first proposed the Bill alongside other TDs in January 2018. She said it is an attempt to convey the message that “climate action is needed now, not in five years or ten years”. Roughly 50 people attended the vigil.

Minister of State for Natural Resources and Rural Affairs and Independent TD Seán Canney has opposed the Bill in the past, saying it would not reduce the country’s use of oil or gas.

“What the Bill is proposing wouldn’t do anything for climate change,” said Canney.

“The licenses which we have given out already could cost the state a huge amount of money,” the Minister added. “If we stop them, we could be open to litigation.”

When asked about the reason for opposition to the Bill, Smith said that she knows it is a result of lobbying from the oil industry.

“I am extremely frustrated with it,” she said. “This is our third attempt to get it out of an administrative limbo and back breathing life into it.”

“We will not change the climate if we don’t change the system,” Smith said.

The TD’s speech at the vigil was followed by poetry and a rendition of The Times They Are A Changin’ by Bob Dylan.

Claire Brennan a People Before Profit activist attended the vigil in support of the Bill.

“It’s such a critical time for climate change and we really can’t be sitting back on the issue,” said Brennan.

The Bill says that a new licence, lease or undertaking for exploration will not be granted if the monthly mean level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is below 350 parts per million at a station in Hawaii.

The reading for January 2019 was 411 ppm. The Bill would effectively ban oil and gas mining off the coast of the Republic of Ireland.

Orla Dwyer

Image credit: Orla Dwyer