The Government have given the industry the green light to scupper climate action by blocking the climate emergency bill, says Brid Smith TD
People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith has said the latest threat to take legal action to stop a proposed Government climate policy shows that the industry is still determined to put its interest before climate action.
The Government face legal action as a result of a proposed change to the oil product levy that means funds would be used for other purposes.
Deputy Smith said: “This follows a pattern where the industry will clearly fight to the death even the mildest measures. The Government has supported this by blocking my Climate Emergency Bill and this has emboldened the wider industry . If such a mild measure meets with the threat of legal action we can imagine the intense lobbying that went into stopping a bill that would ban future exploration.”
The TD said that a FOI request from Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley that showed a huge increase in lobbying should come as no surprise.
“We know that aside from these formal meetings, this Government seems to have no problem prioritising informal meetings over cups of coffee with industry representatives to discuss how to stop serious climate action.”
