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“Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale. Our greatest threat in thousands of years. Climate Change.” These are chilling words from Sir David Attenborough, but they are true. The world is in a precarious situation at the moment with regards to climate change. Temperatures are rising, the Greenland ice sheet is deteriorating and sea levels are rising. In December of 2018, the UN Climate Change Summit was held in Katowice, Poland. It was also announced in December 2018, that for the second year in a row, Ireland is the worst performing country in the EU with regards to climate change. With the New Year upon us, we must find out what Ireland can do to rectify that before it’s too late. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has even referred to Ireland as being a “laggard” when it comes to climate change.
Germany has turned to renewable energy. Wind and solar energy are used widely in Germany. There are often periods, when Germany generates too much renewable energy, their storage system cannot hold all the energy generated and when this happens the cost of the energy goes negative. This leads to Germans receiving lower bills for their energy use throughout the course of the year. It’s has happened regularly over the past two years. Iceland credits their economic recovery to their investment in green energy. Ireland on the other hand, relies on carbon-based fossil fuels, gas, oil and peat for energy.
Photo Credit: scottishgrocer.co.uk
The Irish government’s inertia in regards to climate change has led to them facing time in court. The Friends of the Irish Environment has taken a case against the government and is due to go to court the week starting the 21st January, 2019. I spoke with Tony Lowes of the organisation and, while he couldn’t say too much with the impending court case, he did say this: “To me it is quite astonishing how the Government has failed us, from the cabinet to the local authorities. But is this because politicians will only do what will get them elected, and the people themselves won’t vote in again a politician who has made their petrol more expensive?”
Does the blame lie entirely with the government, or do regular citizens play a part in the problem, I ask Lowes? “Every day in every way we can reduce our impact on the world – and we can all make it clear to our politicians that if they don’t take meaningful action they will be out of a job!” He also adds “And never think any effort is too small, from lowering the temperature in your house to avoiding meat as much as possible. Don’t give up the possible because it isn’t the perfect!”
Friends of the Irish Environment on their way to court - photo credit: irishexaminer.com
Whilst the Government haven’t performed well when it comes to climate change, they are taking steps in the right direction. This year they announced that they are banning all Government agencies from buying single use plastic cups, cutlery and straws.
One way Ireland can help improve its performance with regards to climate change is the implementation of a bottle return scheme. Germany and many other countries around the world such as Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands have a deposit return system. Consumers return plastic or glass bottles at the supermarket and receive money back for them. This system motivates people to recycle more and be more aware of their consumption habits. Since the introduction of the plastic bag levy in 2002, the use of plastic bags has fallen 90%. This shows that when the government implements intelligent policies, people will follow it.
Another organization is heavily involved with the fight against climate change, is Friends of the Earth. Director Oisín Coghlan explained their idea of how the government’s proposed carbon tax and refund scheme would work. “Raise the carbon tax, but all the money that comes in…is given as a payment to every man, woman and child. Therefore if you pollute less than the average, you end up with a cash bonus. If you pollute more than the average, you end up out of pocket” said Coghlan. The idea is smart, it’s the government helping people to be greener and we’ve seen with the plastic bag levy, that this way of thinking has worked before.
Storm Emma - A reminder how adverse the weather has been in Ireland -
Photo Credit: irishmirror.ie
Coghlan does have issues with the government though. He has made it clear, along with others, that Ireland needs a bottle return scheme and the need to address the carbon tax issue. He also said “people are very concerned about plastic. It has become loud in the last couple of years.”
There is a lot for Ireland to do in 2019 with regards to climate change. Both the government and the people of Ireland need to work together to stop what Attenborough has called “greatest threat in a thousand years.”
For more information about climate change please visit the following sites
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