Great turn out at 'Climate Change Blows' Vuvuzela Protest
 There was a great turn out at on Thursday 24th November as members and supporters of Stop Climate Chaos blew hundreds of Vuvuzelas, the horns made famous at the 2010 Football World Cup in South Africa, outside the Dáil ahead of the UN Climate Change Summit in Durban this December.
We were 'blowing off steam' to express our frustration at the slow pace of political action to combat climate change and calling on Irish and international decision makers not to leave the future to chance. We are calling on Minister Hogan to go to Durban and support the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol - the only binding global framework for climate action. While there, we also want the Minister to set a date for the publication of the promised Irish climate law, to show that Ireland is serious about its domestic commitments to addressing climate change. Read the press release here. View more pictures here. Check out videos from the Vuvuzela protest from Oxfam Ireland here and Trócaire here.
Vuvuzela protest- Climate Change Blows
Come and make s ome noise with us! Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan prepares to travel to Durban in South Africa for the UN conference on Climate Change at the end of this month. Stop Climate Chaos want to send him off knowing climate change matters to people. Come down to the Dáil on Kildare St, Thursday 24th of November at 1pm and join the call. As Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan has caused confusion and uncertainty with his remarks surrounding whether or not the climate change bill is a priority for him. We need him to commit to publishing a climate bill and sending it to the Environment committee early next year. Email your TDs to ask for the Climate Bill here.
Trick or Treat! Ask for a climate Bill
 The climate crisis is the greatest challenge humanity faces. The poorest people in the world are already feeling the impacts of a crisis they played no part in creating.
Enacting a strong climate law and ensuring we meet our commitments to developing countries is the greatest thing Ireland can do to stop climate chaos. Email your TDs now to tell them you want to be proud of Ireland at the upcoming UN conference on climate change in Durban this December. There are opportunities for Ireland if we respond smartly. We have huge potential to develop renewable energy. And, with our image as the Emerald Isle, we are well-placed to position ourselves as a hub for green enterprise and investment. We have an interest in making ourselves more energy independent. 89% of the energy we use in Ireland comes from imported fossil fuels, more than half of that from oil. In the interests of energy security and global equity, Ireland needs to cut our use of pricey foreign oil as fast as possible and invest instead in renewable energy. The Government has committed to passing a climate law in the Programme for Government and Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan has told the Dáil that he would publish climate legislation in 2012. The law must be strong enough to ensure it is a vital part of building a sustainable and smart Irish economy. Email your TDs now to ask Minister Hogan to send the promised climate Bill to the Environment Committee. This must be done before the UN talks on climate change in Durban this December. Let's stop contributing to the problem, let's start implementing the solutions. Email your TDs today! p.s. If you would like to receive a copy our How Green is Ireland leaflet, or if you can use any leaflets at a local event or in your community, email us at info@stopclimatechaos.ie
Ireland's oil dependence fuels global injustice
Reliance on depleting fossil fuels is bad for us and bad for climate change
As the latest round of UN climate talks comes to a close in Bonn on Friday 17th June 2011, Stop Climate Chaos, a coalition of development, environment, faith and youth groups, put the spotlight on Ireland's dependence on imported fossil fuels and how it is fuelling global injustice. In a photo stunt outside the Dáil the coalition physically represented emissions per person from four different countries, demonstrating the much larger carbon footprint of the average Irish person. Stop Climate Chaos has welcomed the commitment in the Programme for Government to pass a climate law and is calling on Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan to publish his Bill before he heads to Durban for the next round of climate talks in December. Colin Roche of Oxfam Ireland said
"In the interests of global justice and a safe climate, Ireland, like everybody else will have to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. In the interests of energy security and affordability Ireland needs to cut our use of pricey fossil fuels as fast as possible and invest instead in renewable energy. People in developing countries are already suffering the effects of climate change and will suffer further if Ireland and other countries fail their responsibility to reduce their emissions. We also have a responsibility to ourselves to develop a clean green economy based on safe energy that won't run out." 89% of the energy we use in Ireland comes from imported fossil fuels, more than half of that from oil. As a result Ireland emits 17 tonnes of carbon emissions per person per year, compared to 11 tonnes in Denmark, just 5 in China and barely 1 in Ethiopia. Speaking from the talks in Bonn, Cliona Sharkey of Trócaire said
"Ireland is among the highest emitters of greenhouse gases per person among developed countries, but we have significant potential to address this. Strong climate legislation is a crucial instrument to ensure we do so effectively and to drive a transformation to a safe and sustainable low carbon economy." Taja Naidoo of Progressio Ireland said
"The passing of a climate law will send a clear signal to people in developing countries that Ireland will not stand idly by while people suffer, and that we are truly committed to tackling climate change. If Minister Hogan is serious about his commitment to have a climate law passed in 2012 he should publish a Bill this Autumn to allow adequate time for consultation."
All parties commit to passing climate legislation
All parties have now committed to passing climate legislation in the new Dáil. Fine GaelThe Fine Gael manifesto includes the following on page 42: Climate Change Legislation: Fine Gael will legislate for a climate change law that sets the Kyoto and EU2020 targets in national legislation but only on the basis of all party agreement. Download the Fine Gael manifesto here. LabourThe Labour manifesto includes the following on page 27: Labour's Climate Change Bill will provide certainty about government policy, and a clear pathway for emissions reduction, in line with negotiated EU targets. Labour will also work at EU level to set up a national programme for forest carbon offsets. Ireland also needs a coordinated approach to the two-pronged challenge of reducing our carbon output and growing our energy independence, with responsibility at the highest level of government. The Department of the Taoiseach will coordinate both our domestic and international policy on climate change. Download the Labour manifesto. Fianna FáilThe Fianna Fáil manifesto focuses soley on the public finances, jobs and political reform, but Micheal Martin has written to Friends of the Earth to say Fianna Fail remains committed to the climate Bill the FF/Green coalition published in December: "We are committed to an ambitious environmental programme which includes tackling climate change. We published the Climate Change Response Bill 2010 on the 23rd December 2010 which passed first stage in the Seanad before the Dail was dissolved. The Bill set out Fianna Fáil's commitment to legislating for a process that allows us to plan for greenhouse emissions reduction and adaptation to climate change, as the Bill makes clear ...The Climate Change Bill should enable us to pursue a smart economy which is highly productive, competitive, resource-efficient and environmentally sustainable." Read the full letter here Green PartyThe Green Party manifesto also re-affrims its commitment to the climate Bill they published in Government with Fianna Fáil, and outlines it's main features on page 31. It then says: "As part of the next government, the Green Party will prioritise the passage of this vital piece of legislation through the Houses of the Oireachtas." Download the Green Party manifesto. Sinn FéinSinn Féin party president has signed the Stop Climate Chaos candidate commitment, which includes a commitment to a climate law that provides for 5 year tagets, not to be met by buying offsets overseas and an independent commission to advise Government, with the power to publish it's own reports. Read the commitment here. Socialist PartySocialist Party leader, Joe Higgins MEP, has signed the Stop Climate Chaos candidate commitment outlined above. Read the commitment here.
Ask Election Candidates on your doorstep to sign the Candidate Commitment
Cover image for Candidate Commitment 2011 If you are concerned for the environment and global justice, the strongest thing you can do right now is talk to General Election Candidates on your doorstep about climate change, and specifically about climate change legislation. You are about to be seeing a lot of them so take this opportunity to ask them where they, and their parties, stand on climate change. Climate Change is real and happening now. The effects of climate change are already being felt throughout the world and it is the poor in developing countries who are first and worst affected- and least responsible. Without urgent action, hundreds of millions of people will be put at severe risk through droughts, floods, hunger and disease. The biggest contribution Ireland can make to global efforts is to pass national legislation on climate change before the next round of UN climate talks this December. All the groundwork has been done by the civil service and by the all-party committee on climate change. All that is needed is political will. Help us make sure everyone running for election to the Dáil commits in writing to support a strong climate law and a plan to make Ireland's financial contribution to addressing climate change separate and additional to overseas aid by asking canvassers and candidates who call to the door the following: Ask candidates and canvassers on your doorstep three simple questions:Will they and their party seek and support the passing of fair and effective climate change law this year?Will they and their party seek and support a plan ensuring that Ireland's financial contribution to addressing climate change is separate from and additional to the overseas development aid (ODA) budget?
You can download the Candidate Commitment here and our General Election 2011 Climate Briefing here. Please print these, ask candidates to pledge their support by signing the Candidate Commitment, and then return the signed commitment to Stop Climate Chaos, 9 Upper Mount Street, Dublin 2. You could also visit your local TDs if they don't call to your home asking them to support and sign this commitment.
CEOs of Stop Climate Chaos member organisations write to Party Leaders to Support Climate Legislation and Additional Climate Finance
Cover image for SCC CEO Letter to Party Leaders CEOs of the member organisations of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition wrote to Party Leaders ahead of the upcoming General Election at the end of February urging them to support climate legislation and additional climate finance. The letter can be downloaded here.
Civil society says climate bill to be taken up by next government
24 January 2011 The Stop Climate Chaos coalition, made up of Irish environmental, youth, development and faith-based organisations lamented today that the climate bill is among the many victims of recent political developments. The Climate Change Response Bill was published in late December with the intention of seeing it passed before the dissolution of the Dáil ahead of the general elections. With the elections looming earlier than expected, it is now clear there will not be enough time to see the legislation through both houses. 'Climate change is not going away; the new government will have to pick up the issue of climate legislation as a matter of priority', said Cliona Sharkey from Trócaire. 'People in Ireland have woken up to sustainability', Cliona said. 'If the current crisis has taught us anything, it's that the attitude that business as usual can go on forever is a recipe for disaster'. Stop Climate Chaos contend that strong climate legislation can provide the cornerstone of a low-carbon Irish recovery that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. 'The Irish people must be provided with the space and the mechanism to decide how we want to address climate change. The efforts of well-oiled interest groups over the last weeks to undermine climate legislation by painting the proposed bill as detrimental to Ireland's recovery are not only disingenuous, they are dangerous', said Molly Walsh of Friends of the Earth. 'Countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas are hiking up their investment in the renewable sector and in energy efficiency. A climate law in Ireland would send a strong signal that we are building the institutional framework to support a modern and ecologically-sustainable economy, attracting our share of growing international investment. Otherwise we risk being left behind in an outdated and declining model', said Molly. Stop Climate Chaos coalition members are making submissions to the public consultation which remains open until Friday, January 28th, 2011.
Stop Climate Chaos welcomes the publication of the Climate Change Bill
 The publication of the Climate Change Response Bill 2010 last month signaled the end of a successful year for the coalition. This follows another campaign achievement with an announcement by Minister Ciaran Cuffe for the provision of €23 million additional climate finance as Ireland's contribution for 2010.
Stop Climate Chaos, its members, and supporters have been campaigning for a Climate Change Bill to ensure Ireland does its fair share to reduce climate-changing emissions since its launch in 2007. Since then, a majority of TDs signed the Stop Climate Chaos Call to Action, which supported a climate law, in 2008. The all-party Oireachtas Committee on climate change and energy security published a report calling for a climate law in September 2009. The renewed Programme for Government in October 2009 included a commitment to introduce legislation in the lifetime of this Government, and a Framework Document on climate legislation was published in December 2009. Stop Climate Chaos will continue to engage in the process to ensure Ireland gets the strongest Climate Bill possible. The Climate Change Response Bill is available here and a submission on the content can be made before January 28th at climatebillconsultation@environ.ie
John Gormley has one more thing to do
Thanks to your campaigning, the Government recently agreed the content of the Climate Bill. Now the Greens have announced their intention to leave Government early in the New Year. We need to pile on the pressure to make sure the Climate Bill becomes law before the election. Tell John Gormley he has "one more thing to do" before leaving office. It is not too late for this Government to deliver on its commitment to pass a Climate Bill. Putting a legal framework in place shows Ireland is finally ready to do its fair share to curb emissions and plan for a low-carbon future. This, together with support for people whose lives are already being destroyed by climate change, is the biggest contribution we can make to get the international negotiations back on track. Without you, the Climate Bill would not have got this far. Now let's get the Government to publish and pass the Bill before they leave office. Take action to make sure the Government publish the Climate Bill before they leave office. Climate was top of the Green Party's agenda going into Government in 2007 and if they leave office without publishing and progressing the Climate Bill their legacy will be one of bailing out the banks, and not delivering on climate. Please email John Gormley now. See photos of 'John Gormley' showing 'Brian Cowen' his to-do list outside Government Buildings.
Stop Climate Chaos coalition tells John Gormley he must publish the Climate Bill before leaving office
John Gormley must deliver on Climate Change before he leaves office Gormley has one more thing to do
As the UN climate conference opens in Cancun, Stop Climate Chaos coalition today demanded that Minister Gormley must deliver the Climate Bill before leaving office. Characters dressed as John Gormley and Brian Cowen displayed Gormey's to do list outside Government Buildings. Photos at http://www.stopclimatechaos.ie/gallery/todolist/ This week the Government agreed to hold a general election in the new year. The Green Party leader and Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, indicated three Green Party priorities before leaving office- produce a four year plan, pass the Budget on December 7th and secure funding from the EU and IMF. However, he failed to prioritise one of the Greens main motivations for going into Government- Climate Change. He now has one more thing 'to do' Gavin Harte of Stop Climate Chaos said
"The Greens must publish the Climate Bill before leaving office. Climate was top of their agenda going into Government in 2007 and if they leave office without publishing and progressing the Climate Bill their legacy will be one of bailing out the banks, and not delivering on Climate." Sorely McCaughey of Christian Aid said
"We are presenting Brian Cowen and John Gormley with a To Do List as the UN Climate Conference in Cancun gets underway. Climate change has to remain on the government's to-do list. It is not enough to just deal with the current crisis. The government must also act to prevent a future climate crisis .The Green Party's climate legacy hangs by a thread, they must pass the Climate Bill before they leave office" Colin Roche of Oxfam Ireland said
"It is not too late for this Government to deliver the Climate Bill. We must put a policy framework in place that shows Ireland is finally ready to do its fair share and plan ahead for its climate future. This, together with support for people whose lives are already being destroyed by climate change, is the biggest contribution we can make to get the international negotiations back on track." It is a year since the Framework Document on Climate Legislation was published by the Government prior to the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen. The Framework for Climate Change Bill 2010 indicated the Government intention to publish the Bill before the end of this year. Stop Climate Chaos are calling on the Taoiseach and Minister Gormley to ensure this happens. ENDS
Where is the Climate Bill?
A majority of TDs support a strong climate law for Ireland. 85 TDs have signed the Stop Climate Chaos "Climate Commitment" which supports a strong climate law for Ireland and new climate finance for developing countries. However, the promised Climate Bill is nowhere to be seen. Get your TD to follow up on their commitment by asking them to write to Brian Cowen and John Gormley to ask, "Where is the Climate Bill?". Email your TD today.
Mass Lobby - A Huge Success!
On June 2nd the Stop Climate Chaos coalition took part in a Mass Lobby on climate change. Constituents from all over the country came to Buswells Hotel, across from the Dáil, to meet with their TDs. We were asking TDs to commit to supporting a strong climate law in the Dáil, when the Bill comes before them this Autumn. Over 70 TDs signed the climate commitment in Buswells on the day, and several more have signed since then. The climate commitment asked TDs to support our asks of:
- supporting the passing of a strong law that achieves targets by making real reductions in our carbon emissions and not by buying 'carbon offset credits',
- ensuring the independent, advisory climate change committee that is planned as part of the Bill, publishes its reports publicly,
- and, to ensure that Ireland's financial contribution to addressing climate change is separate from and additional to the overseas development aid (ODA) budget.
Disappointingly, Minister Gormley signed the climate commitment only after scribbling out by hand the words, "not by buying carbon offset credits". While it is good to have support on the other points from him, we are not happy that the Minister thinks it's ok to buy our way out of the problem instead of reducing emissions here in Ireland. We want to thank all of our supporters for coming to this event. There was a real buzz and energy in the room and many of the TDs who attended on the day commented on it. If you are interested in following up with any of your TDs who haven't yet signed the climate commitment, please get in touch with us on 01 639 4653, and we can give you support with this. And well done again to everyone who took part!
The SCC Team.
TDs who have signed the Climate Commitment
Carlow-Kilkenny Mary White (GP) Cavan-Monaghan Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (SF)
Margaret Conlon (FF) Clare Joe Carey (FG)
Pat Breen (FG)
Timmy Dooley (FF) Cork East David Stanton (FG)
Michael Ahern (FF)
Ned O'Keefe (FF)
Seán Sherlock (Lab) Cork North-Central Billy Kelleher (FF)
Kathleen Lynch (Lab) Cork North-West Michael Moynihan (FF) Cork South-Central Ciarán Lynch (Lab)
Michael McGrath (FF)
Simon Coveney (FG) Cork South-West None Donegal North-East None Donegal South-West Dinny McGinley (FG) Dublin Central Joe Costello (Lab)
Maureen O'Sullivan (Ind) Dublin Mid-West Joanna Tuffy (Lab)
Paul Gogarty (GP) Dublin North Darragh O'Brien (FF)
James Reilly (FG)
Michael Kennedy (FF)
Trevor Sargent (GP) Dublin North-Central Finian McGrath (Ind)
Seán Haughey (FF) Dublin North-East Terence Flanagan (FG)
Tommy Broughan (Lab) Dublin North-West Róisín Shorthall (Lab) Dublin South Eamon Ryan (GP)
Olivia Mitchell (FG)
Tom Kitt (FF) Dublin South-Central Aengus Ó Snodaigh (SF)
Catherine Byrne (FG)
Mary Upton (Lab) Dublin South-East Chris Andrews (FF)
John Gormley (GP)
Lucinda Creighton (FG)
Ruairí Quinn (Lab) Dublin South-West Brian Hayes (FG)
Charlie O'Connor (FF)
Pat Rabbitte (Lab) Dublin West Joan Burton (Lab)
Leo Varadkar (FG) Dún Laoghaire Eamon Gilmore (Lab)
Sean Barrett (FG) Galway East Michael P. Kitt (FF)
Paul Connaughton (FG)
Galway West
Michael D. Higgins (Lab)
Noel Grealish (Ind) Kerry North Jimmy Deenihan (FG)
Martin Ferris (SF) Kerry South None Kildare North Áine Brady (FF)
Emmet Stagg (Lab) Kildare South Jack Wall (Lab) Laois-Offaly Charles Flanagan (FG)
John Moloney (FF)
Olwyn Enright (FG)
Seán Fleming (FF) Limerick East Jan O'Sullivan (Lab) Limerick West John Cregan (FF)
Niall Collins (FF) Longford-Westmeath James Bannon (FG)
Peter Kelly (FF)
Willie Penrose (Lab) Louth Arthur Morgan (SF)
Fergus O'Dowd (FG)
Mayo John O'Mahony (FG)
Michael Ring (FG) Meath East Mary Wallace (FF)
Shane McEntee (FG)
Thomas Byrne (FF) Meath West Damien English (FG)
John Brady (FF) Roscommon-South Leitrim Frank Feighan (FG) Sligo-North Leitrim Eamon Scanlon (FF)
Jimmy Devins (FF)
John Perry (FG) Tipperary North Máire Hoctor Tipperary South None Waterford Brian O'Shea (Lab) Wexford Brendan Howlin (Lab)
John Browne (FF) Wicklow Andrew Doyle (FG)
Joe Behan (FF)
Liz McManus (Lab)
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