Senator Alice-Mary Higgins today spoke in support of a successful resolution calling for OSCE members to incorporate gender and youth dimensions to their climate actions. Senator Higgins was attending the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Luxembourg as part of the Irish delegation.
The resolution, which was dicussed at the committee on economic affairs, science, technology and environment, recognises that the impacts of climate change can differ according to geder and age. It notes that young people in particular are leading the global calls for action and calls for practical measures to support and enhance this youth voice in policy-making.
Speaking to the assembly Alice-Mary Higgins said, “Young people don’t just want to be part of photo opportunities – they want to be meaningfully engaged in shaping policy and determining our future path of action on climate change.”
She continued, “When we sign new contracts or give away licences for more drilling, we are actively disenfranchising young people because we are narrowing the time and space for them to make political change in the future”.
The
motion which passed the assembly calls for member states to integrate youth and
gender perspectives into their work and to facilitate youth leadership. The
parliamentary assembly also recommended that states develop climate change
gender action plans. This is something Senator Higgins will be pushing for
progress in relation to on her return.
That Seanad Éireann: deeply regrets and condemns:
- the killing of over 28,000 Palestinians in Gaza in recent weeks;
- that over 11,500 of those killed have been children, over 17,000 children have been left unaccompanied because Israeli attacks have killed their entire families;
Bill aims to deliver better results from the almost €20 billion Ireland spends each year on public procurement by placing quality at the heart of the process.
Speaking after last night's Seanad debate Senator Higgins said:
“In 2021 the Irish State spent almost €20 billion on public procurement. This Bill is about spending better. We need to know that the public money we are spending is giving us the best possible results in terms of sustainability, the environment, employment, social impact, quality and delivery. My Bill would require public bodies to consider both quality and price when spending public money or to provide an explanation as to why not. In other words, think about quality or explain why you’re not thinking about quality.”