6 Demand for Fast, Fair and Funded Climate Action

It has never been more crucial to take action on climate change to stop all out climate chaos. Ten years on from the Paris Agreement, our leaders have to act. Renewable energy is cleaner, cheaper, and safer than fossil fuels, yet we remain locked in to dirty, expensive fossil energy, thanks to the power and influence of the fossil fuel industry.

The world is falling dangerously short on climate action, with global reports confirming that current fossil fuel production plans exceed 1.5°C limits by over 120%. Ireland cannot continue to add to that failure. We are currently off track to meet our binding emission reduction targets - that gap must be closed. The Government must uphold the 2021 Climate Law, deliver the pollution cuts agreed by the Dáil and with our EU partners. This is not optional.

The International Court of Justice has now made it clear that states are legally obliged to rein in fossil fuels and to cooperate internationally in doing so. The time is now for Ireland to respond by joining countries participating in discussions towards a Fossil Fuel Treaty.

Our elected representatives must ensure that climate action is fair, creates good jobs and protects living standards. Our leaders must stop lagging behind and start stepping up, because our choices now will shape not just our own future, but the world’s.

1. End Fossil Fuels Now - Power People, Not Polluters 

We are heading towards a catastrophic climate crisis. Ireland must commit to an urgent phase-out of fossil fuels, ending our current dependence, eliminating subsidies and the financing of fossil fuels, and in particular halting plans for any fracked LNG terminal. Our Government must reject the influence of lobbyists that seek to deny or delay the need for urgent climate action on behalf of polluting industries.

Joining the bloc of countries participating in Fossil Fuel Treaty discussions would strengthen Ireland’s credibility, align our diplomacy with international law, and help ensure a managed, fair and financed global transition away from fossil fuels that protects workers and communities.

2. Fair and Funded International Climate Action

Ten years on from the Paris Agreement, Ireland must step up and deliver its fair share of global climate action and fair share of climate finance. That means rapidly reducing our emissions, urgently scaling up the provision of quality, new and additional, grant-based, non debt-generating climate finance to developing countries in line with our fair share, and ensuring all public and private financial flows are consistent with the Paris Agreement and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.

3. Warm, Affordable, Fossil Fuel-Free Homes for All

Everyone in Ireland deserves a warm, well-insulated home. This is critical for better health and wellbeing, lower energy bills, as well as climate resilience. Ensuring everyone can access retrofitting programmes and clean, affordable heating must be a national priority. We can get there by investing in state-led retrofitting programmes that target the coldest homes first, and ramping up rollout of heat pumps, district heating and nationwide solar PV initiatives. At a minimum, all social housing should be retrofitted by 2030 and minimum energy efficiency standards introduced for rental properties.

4. Clean Energy for People, Not Data Centres and Big Tech

Ireland’s energy system must serve people first, not corporate profit. We need an immediate moratorium on new data centre connections - Ireland’s finite renewable electricity resource must be prioritised for powering homes, schools, and communities, not energy intensive infrastructure for Big Tech that drives up fossil-fuel demand and constrains new housing development. 

5. A Just Transition Where No One is Left Behind

The shift to a fossil-free Ireland must create quality green jobs, improved public transport and sustainable mobility, while tackling inequality and exclusion. Women, people with disabilities, workers, farmers and disadvantaged communities - whether urban or rural - must be placed at the heart of change through dialogue and consultation, ensuring that the benefits of climate action are shared fairly, and that every community thrives in a cleaner, safer and inclusive  future.

6. Thriving Nature, Sustainable Food and a Fair Future for Rural Communities

We need our politicians to step up and reward land that provides food, water, nature and climate benefits, support women in agriculture, ensure fair prices for farmers and stop unfair trade deals like Mercosur. They must also fund a strong national plan to restore nature so that rural communities, family farms and biodiversity all have a sustainable and fair future.