What Ciarán spoke about.

20 Oct

2021

EN Speech

UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, the UK (COP26) (continuation of debate)

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Vice-President Silva Pereira, Commissioner Sinkevičius, there are links between the climate crisis and the issue of refugees coming from amongst the most disadvantaged people in the world. These were the words of David Puttnam in his Shirley Williams memorial lecture last week. Many refugees come from the developing world and the global south. We made a promise to developing countries in Copenhage…

19 Oct

2021

EN Speech

Climate, Energy and Environmental State aid guidelines (“CEEAG”) (debate)

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Mr President, I would like to say to Vice-President Vestager that on her appointment, the Commission President told her to be decisive and ambitious on the big issues that are changing the future of our society, our economy and the planet. Indeed, last month we heard Vice-President Timmermans speak about how environmental action 10 years earlier would have avoided the current energy crisis. State …

6 Oct

2021

EN Speech

The Council's lack of will to move the European cross-border mechanism forward (debate)

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Mr President, to bring the European cross-border mechanism into focus I’d like to begin with the story of a cross-border project from my own country of Ireland. The Carlingford Lough Greenway will create 10 kilometres of cross-border greenway linking the city of Newry in Northern Ireland to Carlingford in the Republic of Ireland. It will link up with the previously completed Portadown Newry Greenw…

6 Oct

2021

EN Speech

European solutions to the rise of energy prices for businesses and consumers: the role of energy efficiency and renewable energy and the need to tackle energy poverty (debate)

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Madam President, don’t confuse the super profits of oil and gas companies and the political manoeuvring of Vladimir Putin and Gazprom with the rise in energy prices. If we continue to rely on gas, we will continue to be held hostage by Putin’s Russia. Some blame the rise in gas prices on the emissions trading scheme. The reality is, yes, ETS prices have gone up, but this only accounts for a small …

4 Oct

2021

EN Speech

EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 – Recommendations on next steps towards "Vision Zero" (debate)

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Mr President, ‘One False Move’ was a study of children’s independent spatial mobility, published by Mayer Hillman and others almost 30 years ago. Mayer Hillman is one of my heroes, and in a week in which he celebrates his 90th birthday, it’s worth recalling his research on road safety from 1990. He said then that children’s independent spatial mobility was being eroded by dangerously speeding cars…

14 Sep

2021

EN Speech

Brexit Adjustment Reserve - Draft amending budget No 1/2021: Brexit Adjustment Reserve (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner Ferreira, dear colleagues, the peace in Northern Ireland is a fragile peace due to Brexit, and the lesson from Europe is that the major challenges of our time are only solved by cooperation – cross-party, regional and international. The Brexit Adjustment Reserve will help those hardest hit by the UK’s departure from the EU. As the Greens EFA group, we’re pleased with som…

6 Jul

2021

EN Speech

Connecting Europe Facility - Streamlining measures for the realisation of the TEN-T - Railway safety and signalling: Assessing the state of play of the ERTMS deployment (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, the problem with this file is that while the planet is burning, we’re building car parks. We must do better. The Connecting Europe facility will connect the EU’s energy, transport and digital networks. In the area of transport, it must be used exclusively for sustainable mobility, allowing people and goods to move freely without harming people or planet. And in recent d…