Parish pump politics have only delayed inevitable carbon tax rises

LUNCHTIME today should tell us whether this Government is serious about tackling climate change.

While no one likes paying additional taxes, unless a clear signal is sent that the world cannot afford to continue using fossil fuels, the planet will continue to warm and we will all ultimately suffer.

As former president Mary Robinson put it yesterday, we are not on course for a safe world for our children and grandchildren. Emissions must fall by 45pc by 2030 if there is to be any hope of avoiding catastrophic change, the IPCC warns.

“It’s a very short window, but it’s the only window we have,” Ms Robinson said.

Over the summer, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar insisted Ireland would no longer be a laggard in tackling climate change. He made the point that carbon taxes would have to rise to discourage fossil fuel use, but as of last night, it appeared that parish pump politics were coming to the fore.

The same old arguments were bandied about. A carbon tax hike would affect motorists in rural Ireland, forced to use their car. Or perhaps households forced to rely on oil to heat their homes. Or maybe hauliers facing a hard Brexit.

Someone is always affected when hard policy decisions are taken, but tackling climate change isn’t about easy choices, particularly given the fact that Ireland has largely ignored taking action to date.

The carbon tax currently stands at €20 per tonne. It was/is expected to rise to €30. But by 2030, it’s supposed to go to €90. Avoiding this hike today means more pain next year, or the year after. The brave thing politically would be to set out a clear roadmap today.

That said, the carbon tax is only part of the equation. Prices at the pumps or hikes in home heating bills won’t encourage a societal change in behaviour. While there has been success on renewable energy, action is needed on agriculture and transport where emissions continue to rise.

The spend on roads over the last decade has been more than twice that on public transport. Today’s Budget is worth watching on that front. Will there be anything on measures to tackle congestion? Probably not.

Agriculture has largely enjoyed a free ride, and although some efforts are under way to reduce emissions, the fact that the expansion of the beef and dairy herd is official Government policy highlights how climate action isn’t a priority for now.

This IPCC report says that time is running out. Average global temperatures are forecast to rise by 3C under current trajectories, well in excess of the 1.5C, which the IPCC suggests is the upper safe limit. The extreme weather of recent years will become the norm unless emissions are tackled.

While the summer heatwave was glorious, we have seen the downside, most notably in the water shortages. Climate is not going away, and today’s Budget will tell us whether this is a Government of vision, or one shackled by parish pump politics and shortterm thinking.