Speech by Nessa Childers MEP at the PES Forum Environmental Panel discussion
Posted by Bronwen Maher on September 14, 2009 at 11:52 AM
As a newly elected MEP I would like to take the opportunity to thank the PES for the extremely warm and fraternal welcome which has been extended to me from my very first day in the Parliament.
That sense of belonging to a wider community, the sense of a commitment to a set of common, shared values and the very unique set of beliefs and ideals which bind us together as members of the socialist and social democratic family means that we are members of the movement which is best placed to tackle and deliver on one of the key challenges of our times – global warming and climate change.
As social democrats, we have made common cause, worked together and rose to meet historic challenges in the past in relation to employment, equality, the social Europe and many other areas of concern to European citizens.
For many of us today, the biggest challenge we all face is that of climate change and global warming.
And I am firmly convinced that it is only the socialist and social democratic movement which has the credentials, the critical mass and the vision to successfully tackle the enormity of the task ahead.
Speaking as a member of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, it is clear to me that Europe has led from the front in relation to climate policy in particular and the environment in general.
This country alone has seen enormous advances in relation to air and water quality, waste management and environmental standards in general as a result of our active membership of the EU - even if successive governments often had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the table in relation to the implementation and enforcement of some EU Directives!
On climate change, on reductions in carbon emissions and on the creation of green jobs a hugely significant amount of work has been done by the EU. But much, much more needs to be done. And this starts with ratifying the Lisbon Treaty.
Amidst the hurly-burly of the Lisbon Treaty debate here in Ireland, one crucially important message has not been given the prominence it deserves.
The fact is that the Lisbon Treaty will put the EU in a much, much stronger position to combat climate change. For the first time in our history, the EU will have a clear and specific legal competence to take tough action against climate change.
In fighting global warming by drastically reducing carbon emissions, we can focus on a whole new area of economic activity and sustainable job creation that, at least in this country, is only in its infancy.
The question of how we can combine sustainable long-term economic growth with tackling global warming and climate change is a tantalising one full of promise.
We in Ireland have a lot to learn from Europe. The EU’s energy supplies come largely from politically unstable regions. Our priority has to be the reduction of our dependence on fossil fuels. Remarkably, Ireland is about 90% dependent on fossil fuels whilst we are extremely well positioned to take advantage in and invest in wind energy, for example.
It is incredible to think that the figure of 1,500 people directly employed in the wind energy industry in Ireland is completely dwarfed by the 23,500 employed in the same industry in Denmark. Huge advances have been made in relation to renewable energy in the wider EU and Lisbon will make us do much more.
The global imperative of tackling climate change can and should provide enormous, unprecedented opportunities for sustainable job creation and economic growth whether it is in the area of new building standards and allied construction opportunities, reductions in car dependency and a move to cleaner technologies or the development of wider scale renewable energy projects.
With the increased focus on renewable energy sources post-Lisbon, we would hope for a dramatic increase in energy production and job creation in this whole area of activity. This, I would conclude will represent a ‘win-win’ for Ireland and a ‘win-win’ situation for Europe and for the rest of the world.
