Stop Climate Chaos Coalition

For release 5 September 2018

Stop Climate Chaos welcomes kick-off of dedicated Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action, signalling new departure for climate policy in Ireland

The Stop Climate Chaos Coalition has today [5 September] welcomed the kick-off of the substantive work of the new special Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action, calling it a ‘new departure’ for climate change policy in Ireland.  Among the Committee's core tasks is consideration of the recommendations made by the Citizens’ Assembly on ‘How the State can make Ireland a Leader in tackling Climate Change'.  The Committee's first witness will be the ESRI and Justice Laffoy, the former Supreme Court Judge who chaired the Assembly process.

Jennifer Higgins, Policy and Advocacy Advisor for Christina Aid, commented:
"It is striking that there was strong cross-party support to establish this special Committee on Climate Action following the model of the Committee on the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. We hope this level of political engagement will continue through the work of the Committee this year and ensure that the Assembly’s practical proposals are implemented. Given Ireland's current woefully inadequate response to climate change, it is vital that the Committee delivers significantly improved accountability and immediate action among Government Departments.”

Cliona Sharkey, Policy Adviser for Trócaire, commented:

“We have all witnessed in recent months the impacts that increasingly unpredictable and intense weather events due to climate change are having across the globe as well as here on our own doorstep. We cannot but be moved by reports on the tragic loss of lives.  Sadly, this is a glimpse of what has been happening in the poorest countries over the last decades, where climate change impacts from increasingly frequent and intense droughts, flash floods and storms are hitting hardest, and where people have least capacity to cope.  An urgent change in direction on climate action in Ireland is not only in our very basic self-interest as a country, it is a global moral imperative.”

Stop Climate Chaos also welcomes the admission by Minister Naughten last week that Ireland’s current national climate action plan (the National Mitigation Plan) is not working and requires radical revision.  This is abundantly clear with Ireland's polluting emissions continuing to rapidly increase, and given the likelihood of significant fines due to the Government’s knowing failure to deliver on 2020 international climate action obligations.

ENDS

Information on the new Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action is available here.

For further information or to arrange interviews please contact the SCC Policy Coordinator, Jerry Mac Evilly – jerry@stopclimatechaos.ie

Notes for the Editor:

1. Stop Climate Chaos is the civil society coalition campaigning for Ireland to do its fair share to tackle climate change. The Coalition’s 33 members include overseas aid and development, environmental, youth and faith-based organisations. https://www.stopclimatechaos.ie/about/

2. In March 2018, the Stop Climate Chaos coalition called for the establishment of a dedicated Oireachtas Committee to take the Citizens’ Assembly recommendations forward, as was done with the Assembly report on the eighth amendment to the Constitution. See the Stop Climate Chaos letter to the Oireachtas Business Committee.

3. The Citizens’ Assembly’s published report is available here. This includes the Assembly’s 13 recommendations on ‘how the State can make Ireland a leader in tackling climate change’. These were agreed by the Assembly after four days of expert presentations in 2017 and following a major public consultation which received close to 2000 submissions.

4. In relation to weaknesses in the National Mitigation Plan, see Irish Times interview with Minister Naughten here. See original analysis of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition here. See reports of the Climate Change Advisory Council here and the European Commission here.

5. In January 2018 at the European Parliament, the Taoiseach responded to criticism of Ireland’s climate record and stated: "As far as I am concerned, we are a laggard. I am not proud of Ireland’s performance on climate change....There are lots of things that we intend to do so that we can meet those targets. It’s something that I am very committed to, and certainly my generation of politicians is committed to. It’s not just the right thing to do; it makes sense economically, I think, in the longer term as well."

6. In June 2018, analysis by Climate Action Network Europe put Ireland in second last place in the EU for action and ambition on climate change.

7. Last year, the Climate Change Performance Index noted Ireland as being the worst performing country in Europe for action on climate change. The Index placed Ireland 49th out of 56 countries. - https://germanwatch.org/en/14639  

8. Ireland is the third highest producer of emissions per person in the EU, and eighth in the OECD with polluting emissions increasing by 3.7% in 2015. Ireland is one of seven EU Member States which is set to miss its 2020 emission reduction targets under the EU Effort Sharing Decision. Ireland is also the only one of these seven States where emissions are predicted to continue to rise. See analysis from European Environment Agency here