Sir, – John Leahy argues that Ireland’s decarbonisation commitments “will be of no avail and a gross waste of taxpayers money” (“Responding to the climate crisis: ambition and reality”, Letters, February 6th). As authors of Ireland’s Climate Change Assessment (ICCA), we offer a number of reflections.
Rapidly decarbonising our societies and adapting to the impacts of climate change is necessary to protect people today and generations that follow us.
The assessment states that rapid, deep and sustained global emissions reduction is critical to limit the impacts of climate change and reduce the challenges and costs of adaptation. It acknowledges that there is an adaptation deficit in Ireland and that action is needed to reduce vulnerability and exposure and increase resilience.
Mr Leahy’s letter draws on the example of docklands developments in Cork and elsewhere in relation to vulnerability to flooding, concluding they had received little attention in the ICCA. However, Volume Three of the ICCA assesses in detail the existing research and risk assessment policies for flood risk (coastal, river, rainfall, and groundwater) across multiple chapters and calls for better adaptation planning in coastal areas.
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Climate change is known as a collective action problem. No one country, not even China, can solve climate change on their own. Countries must come together with ambitious actions to show they are not acting alone. Opponents of action are then confronted with evidence that countries are prepared to do their fair share.
Furthermore, countries that contribute less than 2 per cent share of global emissions each, together make up 36 per cent of the global total, more than China (31 per cent) and the United States (13 per cent). Together, small countries have a big part to play in global emissions reductions.
Ireland is part of the EU, a member of both the G7 and the G20, which are “major historical and current greenhouse gas polluters”, as Mr Leahy points out.
Ireland’s total carbon footprint may be small in global terms, but our per-capita carbon footprint is very high compared to the global – or even the European – average.
The Paris Agreement states it will be “implemented to reflect equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capability, in the light of different national circumstances”. This requires wealthy, developed countries like Ireland to cut emissions faster, not slower, to address inequalities in current and historical national emissions. Ireland has greater economic and institutional capacity and therefore has not just a greater responsibility for reducing emissions, but greater capability to do so.
This is key if the wider equity goals of the Paris Agreement are to be achieved.
Every fraction of a degree of warming matters and every action matters. Collective action is not something to be taken lightly, or to be dismissed as unnecessary. It can be seen as a solution that enhances climate justice as climate change disproportionately affects the poorest, most vulnerable people on the planet. Ireland has an important role in this collective effort, is already showing progress in renewable energy and ambition in terms of its Climate Action Plan.
Volume Four of the ICCA outlines the myriad benefits and opportunities from taking urgent action on climate change, particularly for human health and wellbeing, energy security, livelihoods and lifestyles. Most people in Ireland support climate action to secure a safe and liveable future for our descendants, believe that it should be a priority for the Irish Government, and recognise the benefits that come from taking action. – Yours, etc,
Dr RÓISÍN MORIARTY,
University College Cork.
Prof HANNAH DALY,
University College Cork;
Dr CLARE NOONE,
University of Galway;
Prof BRIAN CAULFIELD,
Trinity College Dublin;
Dr DIARMUID TORNEY,
Dublin City University;
Dr AGNIESZKA STEFANIEC,
Trinity College Dublin;
Dr LIAM HEAPHY,
Irish Centre for High-End Computing;
Dr DANIELLE GALLAGHER,
Trinity College Dublin;
Dr RÓISÍN MORIARTY,
Research Fellow,
Environmental Research Institute,
University College Cork.