EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 Topic Box 2.2 The National Dialogue on Climate Action The National Dialogue on Climate Action is a Government of Ireland initiative, with a secretariat supplied by the EPA (DCCAE, 2020). It aims to engage the public on the challenge of climate change, motivating changes in behaviour and creating structures at local, regional and national levels to support the generation of ideas and their transition into appropriate actions. In 2018, the National Dialogue on Climate Action hosted regional gatherings in Athlone and Tralee. These events sought to raise awareness and motivate and empower members of the public with regard to climate change. The formats included expert presentations, workshop sessions, drop-in areas and interactive panel discussions to maximise engagement (Figure 2.8). These were followed up by a series of local level events in 2019. Figure 2.8  Regional gatherings, National Dialogue on Climate Action (Source: EPA) Continued and more intensive engagement with communities and individuals will require the development and deployment of different methods and approaches as we move from raising awareness across all of society, including traditionally disengaged communities, to empowerment and co-creating climate action. This view is supported by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action’s recommendation to further support the National Dialogue on Climate Action, which has been working towards a process of community engagement to build public support for climate action. Just Transition: Progressing Climate Justice The European Commission’s European Green Deal emphasises that the transition away from fossil fuels and reducing GHG emissions must be just and inclusive, putting people first, and must pay attention to the regions, industries and workers who will face the greatest challenges. The ethical framing of climate actions has become increasingly core to discussions, including calls for a movement towards a ‘just transition’. This is not a move away from ‘climate justice’ but rather an enhancement of the framework for understanding how the transition to a low-carbon society can be equitable and seek to leave no one behind. Current international examples are the coal transitions in Alberta, Canada, and the Appalachia region in the USA. Within the EU, Poland’s transition away from coal and Ireland’s transition away from peat, for example, are shaping the debate EU policy for achieving a just transition (Topic Box 2.3). Climate justice (sharing the burdens and benefits of climate change and its resolution equitably) is one of three forms of justice that needs to be considered in a just transition to a low-carbon future (Mary Robinson Foundation, 2018). The other two are energy justice (ensuring that people have access to energy to maintain a decent quality of life and that the production and distribution of energy is conducted in a manner that causes no harm, environmentally or socially) and environmental justice (the inclusion of citizens in the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental legislation and policy) (Jenkins et al. , 2016). A just transition moves beyond protecting the rights of vulnerable individuals to understanding the causes of vulnerability and how responding to climate change is an opportunity to engage in justice. It is necessary to actively engage vulnerable and under-represented groups in terms of gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status while developing responses to climate change. Therefore, dialogue to develop responses needs to be considered and deliberate, in order to understand the hopes and concerns of individuals and communities, and to reduce the risk of policy failure. The projected economic impacts of the deep transformation are expected to be positive despite the significant additional investments required in all sectors of our economy (EC, 2018b). Ensuring that these benefits are shared equitably requires a just transition framework. 54