Stop Climate Chaos criticizes Ireland's 'singular failure to act' to reduce pollution

Stop Climate Chaos
For immediate release
21 September 2016

Stop Climate Chaos criticizes Ireland's "singular failure to act" to reduce pollution on the eve of Minister's address at Environment Ireland

On the eve of Minister Denis Naughten’s address at the annual Environment Ireland conference, Stop Climate Chaos has sharply criticized the Government for what the campaigning coalition called its "singular failure to act" to reduce Ireland's climate pollution.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced Ireland would fall 70% short of achieving its 2020 emissions target. Luxembourg is the only other EU member on track for failure. In fact, the Government still has no plan to reduce emissions, the National Climate Change Strategy expired in 2012 and has yet to be replaced. Rather than spurring action, this failure has been used by Ministers to make the case for an easier target for 2030. The European Commission has now caved in to the Government's special pleading on behalf of big agri-business. The EU's recent 2030 proposal would actually incentivise Ireland to increase emissions for the next two years.

The government’s efforts to achieve concessions regarding greenhouse gas emissions are inexcusable given the suffering caused by climate change today in the poorest countries. In Ethiopia, where per capita greenhouse gas emissions are 80 times lower than Ireland’s, 10 million people in that country - around twice the population of Ireland - are currently dependent on food aid due to persistent drought in a changing climate exacerbated by El Niño. These are the women and men on the frontline of a climate crisis they did not create.

Executive Director of Trocaire, Eamonn Meehan explained further:

'Fossil fuels are responsible for around two thirds of the emissions that are exacerbating poverty, hunger and inequality in the poorest countries as a result of climate change. The global fossil fuel divestment movement, the fastest growing movement of its kind in history, is focusing public and political attention on the reality that fossil fuels must be phased out without delay. Spearheaded by students calling on their universities to divest given the moral inconsistency of investing in industries that are undermining the future, the list of those committed to removing their money from the industry include major universities such as Glasgow and Dayton universities, European cities such as Copenhagen and Berlin, and even the Rockerfeller Brothers Fund - founded by one of the biggest oil families in the US. A swift, just and definitive move away from fossil fuels must be central to an urgent increase in Government action in Ireland to tackle climate change, starting with the divestment of public money currently being invested in the industry by the Government via the Irish Strategic Investment Fund'.

Failure to act in line with the commitments made in Paris last December will exacerbate a grave global injustice, but it is also not in the interest of Irish people. Chairperson of Friends of the Earth Ireland, Dr. Cara Augustenborg, will address the Environment Ireland conference tomorrow to present a vision of what a fossil fuel free Ireland could look like and how far Ireland is from achieving this vision.

Speaking in advance of the conference, Dr. Cara Augustenborg stated:

‘When you look at what a fossil fuel free Ireland would mean in our daily lives, you can see many of the things we need to do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are also things that benefit our health, security, job prospects and quality of life. Ireland has agreed to achieve a low carbon transition by 2050, but our government’s actions to date are moving us in the opposite direction. This has serious implications for Ireland’s ability to remain competitive with the rest of the world. For example, this week, Solar 21 announced Ireland missed out on 80 of their new permanent jobs and possibly hundreds more because our renewable energy policies were not progressive enough. If we don’t start getting serious about making the transition to a low-carbon society soon, we risk our international reputation as well as our competitiveness.”

Dr. Augustenborg will be speaking at the Environment Ireland conference on addressing the climate challenge post COP 21 alongside Anthony Cox of the OECD; Prof. John Fitzgerald of the National Expert Advisory Council on Climate Change; Anna Beswick of Adaptation Scotland; and Jim Gannon of Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

 ENDS

Note:

Stop Climate Chaos (SCC) is a coalition of 28 civil society organisations campaigning to ensure Ireland plays its part in preventing runaway climate change. It was launched in 2007 and is the largest network of organisations campaigning for action on climate change in Ireland. Its membership includes development, environmental, youth and faith-based organisations. The members of SCC are: Afri, BirdWatch Ireland, Christian Aid Ireland, Comhlámh, Community Workers’ Cooperative, Concern, Cultivate, Dublin Friends of the Earth, Eco Congregation Ireland, ECO UNESCO, Feasta, Friends of the Earth, Gorta, Just Forests, Kimmage Development Studies Centre, Latin America Solidarity Centre (LASC), Liberia Solidarity Group, Methodist Church of Ireland – Council of Social Responsibility, Mountmellick Environmental Group (MEG), National Youth Council of Ireland, Oxfam Ireland, Presentation Ireland, Sustain West Cork, Trócaire, An Taisce, VITA and V.O.I.C.E. 

More information:

The programme for the Environment Ireland conference is here.