We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
A UN REPORT on climate change which will be released tomorrow gives the international community its clearest ever warning about the dangers of accelerating climate change.
That’s according to Alok Sharma, the president of the COP26 UN climate change conference due to take place November.
Sharma told the Observer newspaper: “This is going to be the starkest warning yet that human behaviour is alarmingly accelerating global warming and this is why COP26 has to be the moment we get this right.
“We can’t afford to wait two years, five years, 10 years – this is the moment,” he added, explaining that unless nations “act now, we will unfortunately be out of time”.
Ireland’s Climate Action Bill was enacted in July. It commits Ireland to become carbon neutral by 2050 and halve emissions by 2030. It also contains provisions for legally binding emissions targets through the introduction of five-year ‘carbon budgets’.
The Bill has been criticised by some opposition TDs and campaigners, particularly after a number of “last minute” amendments were passed including revisions on how greenhouse gas emissions are calculated for different sectors.
So today we’re asking: Should Ireland be doing more to tackle climate change?
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
No
@whatistheseason: your answer is shrouded in your own lack of understanding of what’s happening.
@Teddy Bear: he said no and that’s that, his answer is shrouded in a definite no, no doubt u will do your best to cancel him or educate him, lol
@Teddy Bear: Why is it. If Ireland became carbon neutral tomorrow would the impact on climate be noticeable? And from past experience only way Ireland tackles climate change is to TAX it. So I voted no
@Roy Dowling: If there was no cost to doing more to mitigate climate change, every country would be doing it. Of course there is a cost
@Teddy Bear: what’s happening…all of a sudden!
@JusticeForJoe: name calling & calling someone out…nice….feel better about yourself…got the likes you want to reinforce your poor behaviour!
Have a nice day!
@Hear me now: You’re hardly being any better…
@Teddy Bear: it is in fact you who does not understand what is happening
@whatistheseason: yes
@Larsen Cib: go in, lay it on us, what was said at a secret meeting that all the real world leaders attended? What did the Rothschilds demand this time? Or was it the Rockefellers?
@Roy Dowling: let me rephrase your question for you, if the entire world became carbon neutral tomorrow would the impact on climate be noticeable? Follow up question, is Ireland a part of the world?
@JusticeForJoe: yes I do stooge, lol
@Paul Furey: He already said no, that is his opinion , yours was not required by him.
@Dave O’Keeffe: My question doesn’t need rephrasing.
@whatistheseason: Ireland produces less than 0.1% of greenhouses gases. No matter what we do, or how much we do, it will be irrelevant. We should send all activists to the big polluters and stop them polluting.
@David Bohane: Can’t you apply your answer to yourself?
@Neil Neart: You’re bang on there. Furthermore one would think that if the activists were really serious in what they believe they’d already be over in the big polluting countries trying to sort things out.
@whatistheseason: nah, its easier to scare Irish people and more fun too…sure havent NPHET been doing it for over a year now. ;-)
@Roy Dowling:
@Hugo Bugo: I don’t see the issue in ‘teddy bear ‘ calling out the simplicity and irrationality of ‘whatistheseason’s’ comment!!
It would be just another excuse for another tax which won’t actually be used to tackle climate change. Look what happened when they tried to get rid of disposable cups etc, with Covid they’re used everywhere as people afraid to wash cups and dishes.
@Lisa Jones: yes Lisa, that was something that really annoyed me. I work in transport and I’m up and down the country every day, and stop regularly for coffee. They won’t touch my reusable coffee cup, instead they make it in a paper cup, hand it to me and I swiftly pour it into my cup and put the paper cup straight into the bin.
There is no logic in this world.
@John Mulligan: it’s bad barista practice to make espresso directly into a plastic lined paper cup. You get a dose of forever chemicals from the plastic lining. I do not know why they cannot make espresso into a metal jug. And then make the drink in that jug.
I am already endeavouring to live as carbon neutral as possible. I don’t usually waste water, electricity, or fuel. I re/use bags for as long as I can remember. Well, 90% of the time bar occasions where I forget to bring them, or bring enough. I shop weekly, so I don’t need to take the car to town every day. I try not to buy plastic. And here I would very much like for the corporate sector to step up to the (ceramic) plate and produce less. It is really difficult to avoid it. It is easier for me as my kids have grown and gone. It’s really for difficult for families who need to buy bulk. It has to be made easier on the consumer, I think. It’s not fair that the end user gets penalised and taxed to the gills for retail stock options, or delivery packaging.
@Mandy Seiler: brilliant;), I do the same,but this comment section makes me want to give up. Its disheartening how many dont care. I understand the questions abt tax being put up but not actually used for fixing issues. Like anywhere else in the world. We are just patching up a balloon with holes in it. Everyones waiting for their government and multinationals to fix the issues because it stems from them producing crap and the government letting them do so. As if its not our fault at all,I for one celebrate people who dare to make a change in their own life,no matter how small. But there’s always going to be people disagreeing in how to tackle the problem. I dont buy things to make me happy,dont need a new iPhone 27363 cause we have one that still works,dont shop in the likes of Penneys cause everything they sell falls apart within a year so its super wasteful. Its not rocket science. People can or could try a lot of ways to help stir these companies in a good direction by showing them that we dont want their crappy plastic wrapped apples anymore but hey,lets just wait for the gov and the multies(the two most trusted entities apart from the church right?) to fix things.
@Mandy Seiler: My grandparents generation lived like this and I was raised not to waste anything. However climate change was not a thing in my grandparents day so no fuss was made about how Irish people of modest means lived in the first half of the 20th century.
@GaMran: Don’t give up just yet – there are quite a few doing their bit. :) There are some fantastic, useful, effective ideas out there, which could easily be implemented here on ground level, i.e deposit on bottles and cans, fresh dairy and egg stations, etc. Scarp the current car tax system and add it to fuel. You are only using the road while you have petrol / diesel (it might make people think about how necessary trips are). There will always be people who don’t give a toss about the euro in the trolley, rather than bringing it back. Of course they are missing the point. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I wish for them that they encounter situations that will turn them into activists. :)
@Em Gee: the entire human population needs to live as carefully & thrifty as our grandparents to have any chance at stopping climate change.
And because of this a 3c temp rise looks to be inevitable. We need to plan for living in a warmer world.
@Em Gee: I am possibly your grandparents generation. :). Environmentalism has been alive and well for many, many decades. Of course you only need to look back to the 80s when smokeless home fuel was finally introduced. People did live more modestly, as the supply simply wasn’t there. As more and more stuff was imported, a throw-away-generation started to emerge, which, sadly is thriving. All the more wonderful that you had such a great upbringing! I hope you are an influencer and encourage your friends to do/be likewise. :)
@Mandy Seiler: same here. The bit that I find the most depressing is that I really try to do everything right by the world, to reduce my footprint as I worry about the world we are leaving to the next generations, and I don’t have kids. It seems many people with kids don’t give a cr*p what they leave behind for them
@Elaine Phelan: That can be the case. Hopefully education and peers will help the kids to do better. Perhaps they can teach their parents.
Who’s saying “No”? People who think we’re too small to make a difference or people who think it’s not real?
@Fifty Shades of Sé: I voted no. Don’t fancy paying another tax.
@Roy Dowling: There are things you could do to help the environment that could save you money.
@Roy Dowling: Well put.
@Roy Dowling: That’s the Irish way of doing things, in the real world it would involve real political and policy change.
@Fifty Shades of Sé: yes like use cardboard straws.
@Fifty Shades of Sé: the question wasn’t should Roy Dowling tackle climate change. The question was should Ireland as a whole. Ireland as a whole climate change policy is Tax it that’ll save the environment
@Roy Dowling: YET another tax!!!
Make it cheaper more people will buy into the ideas. Stop the taxes.
@Mary Nugent: I would love to get pv solar installed but not everyone has €25k lying around and that is the cost after the grants.
@Niall O: wrong it costs about 7-9k after grants.
@Alan Biddulph: That was two years ago. Even if the outlay now was around 10 grand a lot of people still couldnt afford it.
@Franny Ando: Only cost that person 5500 after grants so I allowed for a big price increase, him saying 25k is enough to put people off even checking if it’s viable.
@Niall O: why pv? Put in air to water heat pump 5-8 k less grant. Payback <5 years.
Then pv might be cheaper.
@Aidan Conway: I’d love to see the figures on that last time I looked iair to water would cost me twice as much to run in my admittedly nearly 200 year old house. Most green technologies I’ve looked at are pure snake oil as a retrofit.
@Aidan Conway: You’ll only get payback that quickly with Air to water heat pump if you have home has a BER rating of A3 or more.
Even if you somehow don’t believe that climate change is caused by our pollution… what harm can it do to move towards cleaner and greener practices?
@Dylan Cotter: it’s for the big powers and populations to lead the way. Ireland on its own doesn’t make a whole lot of difference on its own no matter what we do.
@Sean Salmon: Big countries will have a bigger impact for sure, but it’s for everyone to do what they are able to do. If we all waited for the U.S. and China to give us the world we wanted, there’d be a lot of progress we’d never have made.
@Dylan Cotter: Agreed but ‘progress’ is an illusion
Yes! But stop hitting the motorists all the time.
@Jason Okeeffe: stop hitting the motorists all the time.
Yes we should begin the long process of building at least one nuclear power plant on top of everything else. And also truly develope the infrastructure for 100% electric cars while also improving public transport. Taxing, reducing the herd, trying to force diet changes, cutting back on road improvements to force people to use lacklustre public transport are all very negative ways of making a difference and only creates resentment and opposition.
@Thomas Smyth: There’s no point in every country solving the EV electricity generation problem by building nuclear power stations because we’ll end up creating a highly dangerous radioactive stockpile with a half life of a gazillion years or something.
@Damian Moylan: Nuclear power stations take at least 10 to 15 years to build and licence so absolutely no use for our 2030 target and would swallow a lot of capital that could be used much better in properly insulating and renewable energy heating houses.
@Thomas Smyth: Madness. Those old tech one offs are a nightmare. Vast cost and time over runs and far too much nasty waste. What we need are at least two or three factory built, Gen 4 molten salt modulars with grid reserve, like the Moltex, put into each of the old peat stations. Then a mega data centres. Then using the waste heat of both, a vast area of 24/7/365 hydroponic grow houses and next to them, the Black Soldier Fly farms and next to them eating the larvae, the fish and fowl. The rest of the bog then for sequestration.
The climate movement is stuffed with technically inept virtue signallers. Only a temperate zone, mass move into the new nuclear has any chance of dealing with the issue. Please no more wind or solar, which only seems to make our electricity more and more expensive, as in essence they are just subsidy harvesting scams, mostly now owned by the big oil corporates, eager to have us over the metaphorical oil barrel for filling in the gaps. The Green movement now having got exploration and exploitation stopped, we can expect the oil price to shortly double.
With the Green Party in government it seemed reasonable to expect that in return for propping up FFG there would be significant action. Yet the single simplest action, tree planting, doesn’t appear to even be on the agenda. Administration of taxation schemes generates more carbon and disillusionment along with the money; but native deciduous trees will store enormous quantities of carbon above and below ground, in addition to yielding improved air quality and psychosocial benefit.
@Fachtna Roe: Excellent point. Some other countries line the motorways with trees also.
@Damian Moylan: Yes; that’s exactly the kind of straight-forward step that would make a start. But there’s not even been that so far.
Yes but not by charging more taxes and not showing us where it is actually going. Where does my carbon tax levy on my gas and electricity bills go, sugar tax. Why make electric cars more expensive than petrol and diesel cars….Where will the levy on disposable cups go?
@Niamh Brady: Good points, the revenue could be ring-fenced and it would be best to set goals and monitor how we are achieving them through those contributions. (My cynical side, as a smoker, can only offer the observation that our government obviously needs the tax, and while I do appreciate our hospitals being funded, there is still plenty of scope to get our public healthcare system in order. I don’t see why so much social need is being met by charities.)
We can bring in green policy’s without hitting the average person. Deposit system for glass bottles could be a no brainier. But changing the system to get rid of gas boilers and install heat pumps in old houses is not the way forward. Heat pumps are so expensive to run on houses that are not AAA rated. Hydrogen boilers are the future
@Niall Donnelly: except there is little to no infrastructure for hydrogen as a fuel source in this country at present, major investment required. It might be an option in about 10-15 years for properties in the natural gas grid but less of an option for replacing oil fired boilers. Also, don’t forget the production of hydrogen, there might be some capability with excess power generation from off-shore windfarms, hence the 10-15 year time I mentioned.
@Niall Donnelly: hydrogen = Hindenburg airship. Not safe.
@mmz: presumably water = drowning and cars = massive motorway pileup too? Walking out the door = getting run over by a bus. It’s a very simple (not to mention dangerous) world you live in.
Keep cutting the turf something we did for generations
We need to keep the home fires burning when the climate gets cold
@John gaughan: I see your doing your bit for the environment by cutting back on your grammar.
@Alan Biddulph:.. and you’re saving on overuse of the apostrophe…
Poll is very biased. The better question is are you willing to pay more to do more for climate change?
The green party wants us to feel guilty for our sins and punish us with taxes.meanwhile the rich can retrofit there houses to the highest possible standard and drive the latest Tesla cars.we have a population of 5 million and we’re getting screwed over
I voted no as Ireland isnt the problem on a global stage, we a miniscule in comparison to the Asia and the US who apparently are the main culprits. Climate Change is used in Ireland as the excuse for the Cute Hoors to rip off the Irish People yet again.
@Ed Cooper: Frankly all we can do to fix that is to vote them out in favour of more economical ways of contributing. We can’t do much about waste or high consumption in other countries, but we can make a start here.
Definitely not if all it means is we get taxed more and nothing concrete is done, which is the only current solution.
No
Tackle plastic and non biogradeable litter and government spokes people to educate not to dump plastic waste in the high seas and oceans . Educate children to manage all litter waste. When all cars are electric and our heat and energy is powered by wind energy then we will have done enough for a small country. The major problems are in large countries producing and using coal oil and by products of latter. If they change then we will all see a difference. Our saving grace is rain and temperate climate. Before anyone mentions heat waves, in the past the summers were hotter and winters colder (1930′s,1940′s) and earlier. Journalists born since 1970 should look at history.
@Anne Murphy: You can only have true green energy when you solve the electrcity storage issue as solar and wind have fluctuating performance. Prof. Donald Safoway of M.I.T. has been working on a solution for mass storage of electricity required using a new technology called “Liquid Metal Battery” as lithium-ion batteries are unsuitable for mass storage. I found his video very interesting;
https://youtu.be/ZRyo0Nr7CrY
We don’t have until 2050 to be carbon neutral.
@Irish Cottage Rental: The way our emmissions arw calculated bake no sense anyway Co2 sequestration of meadow lands not factored in. Ireland just happens to have an ideal climate for cattle unlike many other countries (just like Olives in Italy etc). 90% of beef is exported so the emmissions should be spread among the user countries – easy to do – just like oil and gas…..
Yes …but taxation of the nation is not the way,,, a definitely not under the control of the gree party
The reality is that there are too many humans on the planet . We have gone from around 1 billion in 1900 to 7.5 in 100 years. The resources needed by this level of population is the real problem. If we dont cull our herd Nature will. Ireland’s efforts re climate change while noble are a drop in the ocean. There are 5 billion people aspiring to our standard of living and as they increase their living standards CO2 is still going to rise regardless of how we produce our energy , short of getting the whole world onto power from fusion plants, which is still 20 to 30 years away. All we are doing in the interim is putting our country at a disadvantage financially to other competitors in the Global market.
@Gregory Pym: How do you propose we cull the herd? You’re right about nature though. She doesn’t like being messed with and will always have the last word. Woe betide those who try to mess with her.
@Gregory Pym: Bill gates, is that you?
China puts out more emissions in an hour than Ireland puts out in a year , they are building a moneypoint every week, no plans on changing either, then India Pakistan Russia Brazil Africa and many more, what about the US 8 mile per gallon cars , it’s pointless unless these countries get involved.
@brendan o connell: That’s ok, little Ireland will make up for all that.
@brendan o connell: U.S cars have improved fuel economy these days and its improving. If the Eu decided not to export all manufacturing to China transport Co2s would be greatly reduced…
Yes.
But not simply taxing everything, as the current Green Party seem intent on doing. Making it a tax-heavy process divides people, feeds right wing talking points and limits the movements reach, generally. We need to be investing heavily in electrified transport, wind and solar power and rebuilding our forests. The scale of this investment should be twice or three times what it currently is, at the outset. This investment would be welcome, sustainable and would greatly improve our services. If every bus was electric, for example, peoples view of electric vehicles would continue to shift in a positive way. The whole ‘re-wilding’ movement should be moved to the fore also, imo.
The out-of-warranty costs of EV’s are very high. Replacement battery set for a Tesla 3 costs $25k and i know a guy who was quoted €13k for 2013 Nissan Leaf. The person buying a new,EV every 3 years is fine, the problem is for subsequent owners which i would expect to hit demand for and residual values of EV.
I voted No coz personally I am looking forward to watching the planet burn from my luxury condo on the Moon
Ireland’s poorest will freeze, while the FFG/Green elites will continue to fly all over the World on their taxpayer funded 5***** junkets.
We are being forced into far too great measures by Europe , a lot of it could and should be ig order, but The Looney on the Bike , RYAN , is being allowed a free hand by our Inept Taoiseach and a very poor assortment of FF Ministers.
Ireland should introduce a system for collection of soft plastics only and find a way to use it. If it cant be recycled then build an incinerator to burn it and create electricity. We should stop tranporting all this stuff to Germany for inconeration as transport Co2s are high.
Co2 emmissions have increased greatly in just 20 years, what changed? 1. people no longer have jobs for 20/30 years and cant move house all the time and therefore travel more 2. was very rare for anyone to fly abroad in the 80s and before and in the last 25 years everyone is flying often multiple times per year 3. increased energy for new electrical devices ipads, mobile phones 4. huge increase in shipping Co2′s as production shifted to China 5. large increase in motor vehicles in Asia 6. longer life span and elderly travelling more.
The Greens are a disaster on climate change, picking around the edges and taxing the poor instead of the rich.
Ban Cruise ships which on average cause as much pollution as 1 million cars.
Ban all non biodegradable food wrappings and receptacles and bring back glass.
Stop wasting money on old green technology which needs huge subvention and instead spend Millions on research and development of Green technologies which are truly effective.
Should we do more-yes, we always can
Should it be by doing it the laziest way possible, by adding taxes?- definitely not
I suppose they could add a few more taxes as the present rate we lose about 80% of our earnings to tax , The greens will be happy when we are paying 90% in taxes and the government continue to sit and do nothing constructive to help with the problem .
@William Mcgee: We lose 80% of our gross salary to taxes?
The smallest country paying the most for expelling the least
Should the question not be “Do we as individuals need to do more?”. We consume things on a personal level and it’s a lazy get-out-of-jail card to constantly believe other people (including governments) should be doing more as we unwrap yet another thing we don’t need covered in plastic.
@James Daly: As long as businesses supply fossil fuels, individuals and factory owners will continue to buy and burn them. Change has to come from higher up sometimes
It’s not that people don’t want to do more or lack of education on it – it’s the fear of in this country agreeing to anything on a big scale means more tax now u can say it’s a narrow view but I would say it’s a view of a lot of people
@The Red Devil:
Totally agree, most right minded people want the Climate crisis tackled, but how the Greens want to tackle it is merely by taxing us to the hilt while ignoring areas where huge change could make a difference.
Subvention for Green Energy simply means taxing everyone so large wind farm companies can sell at profit instead of being far more radical and making changes that reward research and development into better and cost effective green technologies.
Ban plastic wrappings, ban plastic takeaway containers and bring back glass.
Ban cruise ships docking in Ireland- 1 cruise ship has the same emissions as 1 million cars….
Yes pay more taxes sure isn’t that what it’s all about.
We need to clamp down hard on plastic and cardboard. No excuses and make sure there is very little single use. Filling recycling bins with plastic from supermarkets and takeaways the its goes to be burned because no one can be bother to recycle it. Coke and all the drinks companies need to shift to glass and use and reuse.
There is micro plastics in teabags as well… companies should not be using it unless they have a good excuse. Cardboard the same. Trees cut down and it all gets burned after it gets to the customer.
Need more electricity from wind and wave turbines rather than coal. More electric trains, taxis and buses.
If Ireland finds a way to generate enough electricity for EV’s then all tge sub-ststions will require upgrading to help solve the surge capacity issue. If we all plugged in EV’s in tge evening the power would fall out.
@Damian Moylan: I have PV panels on my roof and they have created enough electricity to charge my car as well. If everyone had PV panels on their roofs, at least 50% of the electricity needed for EVs could be covered with that. It’s the lack of initiative that’s causing the wrong influence and the wrong thinking. The cost for PV is a one time investment and pays for itself within a few years, depending on the usage.
It gets a bit tiring being lectured by the avocado toast an a mocha latte brigade when you see something like this article https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/avocado-environment-cost-food-mexico/
I think the question could be turned around to read “How many MORE taxes are they going to implement”. That really is the basis of it.
When private aircraft and cruise ships are seriously taxed, efforts to address climate change by governments can not be taken seriously.
Until then, the usual over-taxing of people with no viable choices has no validity.
@Mary Nolan: Governments could at least be honest and tell we have to go back to 1900, no cars, no fossil fuels.
Anything we do, isn’t going to make a jot of difference.
Close Moneypoint
@Shelley Keary: yep
@Shelley Keary: Only if its replaced by something better. We all use electricity you know.
why would anybody say no.
@Kevin Barrett: because many people are unable to think further than their eye brow ridge, most likely.
@Kevin Barrett: Because they know the Irish solution is to tax everything instead of finding constructive solutions. We import more food from abroad than ever before (air miles) instead of producing it at home. The further food travels the more likely it is to be wrapped in plastic. A sensible solution would be to produce more food at home. Ban or reduce plastic packaging for soft drinks. Better for the environment and our health. Encourage more local businesses so people don’t have to drive as far or even drive at all.
Definitely, but with the businesses wrecking the place, not piling the cost onto people who can’t afford it, as usual
Look at how much of the rainforest that is being cut down every week but they tax us to the hilt
Absolutely yes, we need to be doing more, unfortunately the ONLY “solutions” the nobel prize winners in government can come up with are to tax us more.
Is it actually doing anything? Not many countries seem to care doing anything other than talking about it.
Watch David Attenboroughs witness statement on Netflix. Frighten the bejasis outta you.
Yes. Try banning shops from using so much plastic and not just increase the cost of stuff using carbon footprint as an excuse
Yes – we should insist that our government (& the people pulling the governments strings) get out of bed with all the big bosses of Europe who insist on doing business with countries who are decimating the planet
We should concentrate on cleaning up our lakes and rivers and our sewage, though it won’t make a jot of difference to the climate at least we’ll live in a clearer environment for the time we have left.
We are insignificant anyway. The world is screwed, not a river in Asia left unpolluted.
They will force a change on us but they will try to make us pay taxes and so on.
Èvery country needs to change but the economic impact will be too great so it won’t happen, when it does it will be too late
TBH I think it’s far to late , the world is phlucked. Ireland is a drop in the ocean in terms of climate change
Countries like India and China are the main culprits unless they are taught to be more environmentally friendly then we will continue to be burdened with the cost.
Yes, but go after the big players not the taxpayer. Unfortunately the only thing the government in this country knows how to do is increase taxes. If anything we should be getting tax breaks for moving to greener alternatives, subsidise electric cars to encourage people to move to electric.
Yes we should be doing a hell of a lot more and if you think it isn’t real then your living in la la land
Our temperature records are very likely to be broken at some point in the near future and looking at oregon in the states and other places in the Pacific North West were roasted beyond what they would even consider a heatwave and Greece Turkey and also Italy southern France and Spain are going to take a huge hit in the next few days it isn’t normal and yet again as a species we only think of ourselves while destroying everything around us in the name of greed even storm Emma a few years back is a result of a warmer world even though it brought record snowfalls here in the south
I think we are now far too late to react to prevent major damage now but we still need to act
Lived in UK was at a local community meeting to an applause one person said he would like to see UK 70% non white just like our area more diverse. No hope
have your say