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LAST UPDATE | 12 May 2022
THE WORLD MUST act to bring itself back from the “abyss it is heading towards” due to the climate crisis, the Taoiseach has said.
Addressing a climate summit this morning, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that inaction is “not an option” given the devastating consequences of the climate crisis.
“While Ireland has made significant progress towards the deployment of renewable electricity, we must do much more and we must do it quickly,” he said.
Speaking at the Dublin Climate Summit in UCD, the Taoiseach expressed concerns about the pace of climate action and a slowness from some sectors to accept the magnitude of the climate crisis.
The recent debacle over limiting the sale of turf, which was raised as a climate policy, raised fears about “do people really get a sense of how serious this is?”.
“For a lot of people, still, it’s intangible. It’s down in 50 years’ time, and then you get the whataboutery, ‘sure we’re just a small country’ – but we all have to make a contribution.”
The Dublin summit comes days after a serious warning from the World Meteorological Organization that there is a 50-50 chance global temperatures will temporarily warm more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in one of the next five years, breaching an important benchmark set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The WMO said there is a 93% chance of at least one year between 2022-2026 becoming the warmest on record. The previous record-holder is 2016.
Additionally, the chance of the five-year temperature average for 2022-2026 being higher than the last five years (2017-2021) is also put at 93%.
Speaking today, the Taoiseach said that delivering climate action “will require changes in our collective and individual behaviours, including how we work, heat our homes, travel, consume goods and services, and manage our waste”.
“Delivering this will require all of our efforts, working together. An honest conversation and a shared acceptance that we all need to change so much of how we do things will be vital if we are to succeed.”
A shared acceptance that we all need to change how we do things will be “vital to succeed”.
He said no sector is or can be unaffected by the “all-encompassing” transition needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent global catastrophe.
The Taoiseach told the summit that his “style of leadership” is “impatience with getting the system to move fast”.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has been pushed to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels, which have been a major source of energy for European countries, especially in the east of the continent.
On reducing dependence on Russian energy, the Taoiseach said that ultimately the “only direction is double-down on renewables”.
“Events on the eastern borders of Europe, with the illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Russia have also thrown into very sharp focus the need to phase out fossil fuels and develop renewable energy at pace in a way that guarantees our energy security,” he said.
“While Ireland has made significant progress towards the deployment of renewable electricity, we must do much more and we must do it quickly.”
Currently, EU plans to fill the gap left by moving away from Russian fossil fuels include significant expansion of gas infrastructure.
The most recent report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by 40% to 70% by 2050 if the right policies, infrastructure and technology are in place.
The report identified that the world already has the tools and knowledge to combat the climate crisis, but urgently needs to turn them into action and remove institutional barriers.
Speaking at the summit this afternoon, Minister for Culture and deputy Green Party leader Catherine Martin said that climate change is the “greatest challenge confronting both this generation and future generations”.
“We cannot escape or deny that fact,” she said, highlighting the impacts of climate change already being felt on water scarcity, good production, health, towns and ecosystems.
“Despite our relativly strong economic standing and temperate climate, Ireland is not immune to these risks, nor can we afford to avert our gaze from the damage that is occurring elsewhere,” the minister said.
She said that “insidious” climate denialism must be tackled and that media outlets are crucial to fighting disinformation.
“The work of the news media is also crucial to combatting climate change disinformation and denial and to debunking conspiracy theories.
We witnessed the danger that conspiracy theories regarding Covid-19 could pose to public health during the recent pandemic.
“The danger of climate denialism is more insidious and difficult to address, as the effects of climate inaction are years, rather than days, in the future.
“Today, with the global average temperature at 1 degree celsius above pre-industrial levels, we are dealing with the failure to take action over the past 30 years. If we fail to stabilise the global average temperature at 1.5 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels, it will be because of actions that we failed to take now.”
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He is deluded if he thinks anything Ireland does makes a difference.
@Munster1: Everything everyone does makes a difference
@Munster1: Ireland should be investing in R&D around energy storage (hydrogen etc) & renewable energy generation.
Cutting down on energy consumption is never going to work, we need to reduce the cost of renewable energy & then we will have a lot of side benefits.
@Munster1: Maybe you and your thumbs up mates should give us all a break and not vote ever again cos according to your logic it’ll make effall difference…
Ireland cannot do this on her own and as many carbon taxes as you want, ain’t gonna make 1 iota of a difference unless the big polluters do it on a massive scale
@Geoff Bateman: While I accept that Ireland reducing carbon emissions won’t alone save the planet, small steps can become big steps. The smoking ban and plastic bag levies are an example of how smaller countries can show the way. The problem is that unlike the aforementioned examples, we need to move to viable alternatives. We have an abundance of natural means for generating electricity. But as soon as these are mentioned, the ‘it will spoil the landscape’ brigade are up in arms. Time to think outside the box and invest in the future.
@Geoff Bateman: Any suggestions as to what we should do?
@Mickey Finn: call for an election for a start
Yea, while he simultaneously allows corporations to operate without making any environmental changes. So he can stop banging on about collective effort.
China built 250 coal powered power stations last year and Brazil continues to cut down the rainforest on a daily basis. That’s just two examples.
We can all feel self satisfied by saying everything helps, drowning in a sea of liberal white guilt…
@Philip Keaveney: One young wan in Sweden is making a difference and succeeding in at least getting climate change on the news, getting up the noses of those in power and informing her own peers and enabling them to have a say in their own futures. Sometimes you have to stand up for what is right even in the greatest of adversity… Easter 1916 comes to mind?
@Jerriko17: Absolutely, better than the “some other people aren’t doing their bit, so we shouldn’t do anything either brigade”
@Mickey Finn: you think carbon tax will make a difference? More money in their pockets to do f all with. They offer no incentive to change only to f the tax payer again.
@Jerriko17: She might have a name in Europe, but the rest of the world carries on.
It’s done! A few countries are shouting about it and increasing flights due to losses.
Just think about that for a second. One flight does more damage than a house burning fossil fuels in a year.
It’s all codswallop!
When the big players start to do something about it, then maybe us little fish will too. Until then nothing significant is going to happen.
And only more taxes can fix it folks.
The tayshock and his ilk are only on the climate train to get votes,
People are fed up hearing it meanwhile the rain falls and the sun shines as it has for ever and they get carbon taxed to no end by the tayshock and his ilk instead of addressing the real issues like cost of living etc.
@Ned: how does this work? They are doing it for votes but no one wants to hear about it? I don’t see how that holds up logically.
Personally I think they know it’s unpopular but the hymn sheet has to be followed handed down by EU and other big boys.
@Ned: Real issues like the cost of living!!!!!!!! And what’s causing those costs to rise? Petrol, diesel, gas prices(FOSSIL FUELS) and because we still haven’t copped on to the fact that we need to be fuel self sufficient as much as possible and not dependent on the likes of Putin and the Middle East. You and everyone else including all political parties will have to face up to it…. There’s no other way!!! Oh, and since when has the “climate train” been a vote getter… If it had been we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in now!!
Citizen science is literally climate action. Been developing OLM in the Taoiseach’s constituency since 2008 without a single opportunity. All talk, more empty political dialogue.
Taxing the huge benefits of petrol companies to invest in more renewable energy sources would be a good start.
The only ones heading towards the Abyss is FF, FG and The Green Party. The slaughtering this government is giving to rural Ireland will not be forgotten when they appear on the doorstep looking for votes.
@Mike Ruddy: Wouldn’t bet on that… The Shinners will need someone to join them in government…..not many takers there!!!! And your delusional if you think those in the cities and towns are not feeling the pinch like their country cousins. Seems to me that if you’re well enough off, rural or urban, you’re OK…. If you’re in the middle/lower cohort, wherever you are you’re under pressure. Nothing to be gained driving a wedge between urban and rural.
Wish they would shut up. Every week with the hollow talking points.
Do as we say not as we do. I wonder what politicians went all over the world for Paddy’s day. What’s wrong with face time. Unbelievable shi@# again.
Blah blah blah, massive societal change is needed, the kind that we’re not really that bothered about
Surely they missed an opportunity to make it mandatory for all new builds to have solar panels considering they are definitely going to build 300 000 new homes in the next ten years, along with ready to go car charging points pre installed.
@Jason Dawson: yes, anything that further increases the cost of a house is welcome. Surprised government haven’t done that, great idea mate.
@v39e84kK: are the not forcing us to do this anyway, cheaper to do at building stage than retrofit later, MATE!!
Why not subsidise first/now rather than later, MATE.
Now go and troll someone else.
@Jason Dawson: you seem immature. You should work on that.
@v39e84kK: you seem like a constant whinger, you should work on that.
have your say