Ecosocialist solutions and the Cost of Living Crisis
By Nicole McCarthy
It doesn’t have to be one or the other!
September 24th saw what has been estimated as 20,000 people on the streets of Dublin protesting against increases in their already difficult-to-afford cost of living. We have not had a crowd of this size unified for a cause since the water charges movement - when we saw people power force the government to stop their proposed water charges. We are on the cusp of a drastic shift in workers' living standards, this is why we need to give the demands of our movement real consideration, ensuring that we create long lasting improvements in our way of life that do not disregard our environment.
We can’t forget about the environment!
We need to see urgent actions taken to tackle this crisis, however, as a movement we need to demand that our government enacts policies that tackle the cost of living crisis for workers but also take positive steps for the environment. We do not want to see the usual type of attitude - a quick fix, sticking a plaster over a bullet wound and hoping it covers over the gaping hole of destruction underneath. No! We want to see long term solutions that offer a reduction in environmental impact and an increase in living standards.
The floods in Pakistan, the drought in the Horn of Africa and the European heatwaves have given us some idea of what we are facing if we do not tackle the environmental crisis. The cost of heating your home will matter a lot less when it has been swept away by floods or the air quality is so poor that it is detrimental to you and your family - an estimated one in three children in Europe have a home with air quality that may cause respiratory diseases, allergies or skin diseases.[1] If we have to take drastic measures to tackle one crisis, does it not make sense to also take on the biggest crisis that we as a planet face - environmental destruction.
Even from a purely financial point of view - rather than the idea of improving working class people’s lives and stopping the fast approaching destruction of the world and probable extinction of humanity- a little extra investment now will save a lot of repair funding in the future. There is an estimate that the cost of loss and damage due to climate change will reach at least $1 trillion annually by 2050.[2]
Earth’s wildlife populations have declined at an average of almost 70% in the last 50 years. In Ireland the butterfly population is down 35% since 2008.[3] A loss of biodiversity reduces nature’s ability to regulate harmful toxins like greenhouse gases. These two issues, along with many others, need to be tackled as one in order to restore the natural balance.
There is an urgent need to tackle climate change. So we need the solutions to all of the crises that we face because of capitalism [cost of living, housing, healthcare…to name but a few], to be viewed through ecosocialist eyes if we are to stand any chance of holding off the impending doom this rotten built-for-profit system has dumped on the working class. These crises are all tied to one thing - the need to continually grow the economy in order to increase profits for people who are already billionaires and have more money than can even be comprehended by the average worker.
So what are the demands we should make to take on the cost of living crisis while also addressing environmental concerns?
““an estimated one in three children in Europe have a home with air quality that may cause respiratory diseases, allergies or skin diseases””
Home retrofitting
According to the Buildings Performance Institute Europe, 97% of buildings in the EU need to be upgraded in order to meet an A class rating.[4]
We need a massive public programme of home retrofitting carried out free of cost by a state construction company - this would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce energy bills for consumers. It would also allow for better air quality in people’s homes and provide tens of thousands of green jobs.
Homes in Ireland consume about a quarter of all of the energy used[5] and release more greenhouse gases than our industrial sector. It is estimated that 61% of this energy use goes on heating.[6]
Retrofitting to improve insulation for heat lost through walls, roofs and floors along with upgrading the quality of windows and doors is the first step towards energy saving. The next step of a retrofit is to replace fossil fuel-based heating with a greener alternative run by renewable energy.
We all agree that these retrofits are necessary and will help to reduce emissions and improve quality of life, however, the battle lies in who is going to absorb the costs of it.
Workers are looking at estimates of about €66,000 to get their homes up to the standard needed for a deep retrofit.[7]
Minister for the Environment, Eamonn Ryan, has been quoted as saying;
‘It is vital that those in social housing or who receive a fuel allowance are not left behind, and they will receive a 100% grant.’[8]
However, this is completely neglecting the hundreds of thousands of workers who are not in social housing and also don’t have a spare 66 grand sitting there waiting to be used for a home upgrade. In fact, with the cost of living crisis many working households will have to limit the use of their heating in order to afford rising energy bills.
The government has updated the terms of the grants offered from between 30-35 percent of the cost of a typical deep retrofit, up to 45-51 percent.[9] But this still means that not only are they expecting people to cover half of the cost, you have to pay the full amount up front and receive a refund at a later date.
How does the government expect to meet retrofitting targets when they are making it so difficult for people? It’s no surprise that only 4,000 homes were retrofitted in 2020 when the government target is 75,000 homes every year by 2026.[10]
Free public transport
Cars are responsible for an outrageous 10% of Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions.[11] When we compare this to less than 1% for public transport[12], it is a no-brainer that a shift towards free, frequent and fast public transport would be a helpful step in enabling Ireland to lower its emissions.
One of the biggest issues with Ireland’s current public transport system is how unattractive it is when compared with travelling by car - it is expensive, unreliable, the journey takes longer and does not leave you close enough to your desired destination.
The solutions to some of these issues are obvious - make all public transport free and increase investment to improve the services. In relation to proximity to your journey's end, this could be tackled by making not only regular transport services like buses, trains and trams free but also including e-bikes and e-scooters, and carpool taxis for those with less mobility.
If we want people to actually leave their cars behind, it is not enough to make points about the environmental impact, we need to make public transport the most appealing and cheapest option.
There is also a need to provide safe and accessible paths for cyclists, ensuring an end to the age-old battle between motorists and those on bikes. This would create a road system which is user friendly for all modes of transport.
Nationalising energy - you can’t control what you don’t own.
This phrase has been used in recent weeks by People Before Profit TDs to highlight that, if we leave the energy companies in the hands of the capitalists, they are going to continue to squeeze us for profits. The only way to ensure the energy system is run for the good of the people is nationalisation.
The proof of this can be seen in the fact that previously when we had a nationalised energy system the ESB produced the cheapest electricity in Europe. Now, since we have privatised the market, Ireland’s electricity prices are the fourth highest in Europe.[13]
People Before Profit proposed an immediate solution to reduce and cap bills, forcing energy companies to lower their prices. The Emergency Price Controls Bill [2022] would use powers under existing legislation to declare a cost of living emergency and set maximum prices for energy.[14]
To tackle the cost of living and environmental crises in the longer term, energy companies must be taken into democratic ownership, so we can put an end to fossil fuel use and ensure that there is major investment in renewables.
““If we really want to tackle the environmental and cost of living crises, eco-friendly living must be the easiest, best and most enjoyable option for everyone.””
Eco-friendly living for all?
The idea of living in an ‘environmentally friendly’ way has traditionally been a luxury for those lucky enough to be in the higher earnings bracket - those who can afford to buy keep cups, shop in bulk stores with no packaging but a higher price tag, buy electric vehicles, invest in sustainable brands, and rent near the city centre, allowing them to live on good public transport lines and within cycling distance to their places of work. This is the Green Party attitude of saving the environment through “ethical consumption” and increasing the carbon tax. Those who are struggling to make ends meet do not have the luxury of choosing a brand based on their environmental ethos, price is their biggest concern.
I think this association of eco-friendly products being the more expensive alternative has cut many working class people off from the idea of being an environmentalist.
If we really want to tackle the environmental and cost of living crises, eco-friendly living must be the easiest, best and most enjoyable option for everyone.
We simply cannot roll out a solution to the cost of living crisis that is adding to the environmental crisis as we will end up paying for it through environmental destruction and the costs for repairing damages caused by climate change.
Now is the time to put forward ecosocialist demands to make sure that we take steps in the right direction for both workers and the environment.
Article originally published in Issue 9 of Rupture Magazine. Subscribe or purchase previous issues here.
Notes
Velux, ‘Healthy Homes Barometer 2020 - Ensuring a green recovery post-Covid-19 with sustainable buildings’, 2021, https://velcdn.azureedge.net/-/media/com/healthy-homes-barometer/hhb-2020/hhb_main_report_2020.pdf%20accessed%2002/11/2021
Cynthia Liao, Nina Jeffs and Jon Wallace, ‘What is Loss and Damage’, 10 August 2022, https://www.chathamhouse.org/2022/08/what-loss-and-damage
Patrick Greenfield and Max Benato, ‘Animal populations experience average decline of almost 70% since 1970, report reveals’, The Guardian, 13 August 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/13/almost-70-of-animal-populations-wiped-out-since-1970-report-reveals-aoe
Buildings Performance Institute Europe, ‘97% of buildings in the EU need to be upgraded’, December 2017, https://www.bpie.eu/publication/97-of-buildings-in-the-eu-need-to-be-upgraded/
Asit Kumar Mishra, Paul Moran and Orlaith McGinley, ‘All you need to know about retrofitting your home’, 13 June 2022, https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2022/0503/1295662-retrofitting-homes-ireland-costs-energy-efficiency-ber/
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, ‘Key Statistics: Residential’, https://www.seai.ie/data-and-insights/seai-statistics/key-statistics/residential/
Jack Horgan-Jones, ‘Q&A: How will the new home-retrofitting grants work?’, Irish Times, 8 February 2022, https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/q-a-how-will-the-new-home-retrofitting-grants-work-1.4797139
RTE News, ‘SEAI site 'overwhelmed' after retrofit scheme announced’, 9 February 2022, https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2022/0209/1278752-retrofit-houses/
Horgan-Jones, ‘Q&A: How will the new home-retrofitting grants work?’
RTE News, ‘SEAI site 'overwhelmed' after retrofit scheme announced’
Department of Transport, Transport Trends 2020, March 2021, p. 22 https://igees.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Transport-Trends-2020.pdf
Minister for Transport. ‘Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Parliamentary Questions [33rd Dáil]’, 24 March 2021, https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2021-03-24/28
David Tait, ‘Electricity Prices in Ireland: Most Expensive in Europe?’, 26 October 2022, https://selectra.ie/energy/guides/billing/electricity-prices-ireland#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20latest%20Eurostat,average%20at%20%E2%82%AC0.2369%2FkWh!
People before Profit, ‘Why we should nationalise energy’, 16 September 2022, https://www.pbp.ie/why-we-should-nationalise-energy/