This article examines Ireland's climate inaction in 2024, highlighting the disconnect between political rhetoric and tangible action. Despite alarming global climate trends and calls for urgent measures, Irish leaders have failed to prioritize climate change in their policies and public discourse.
A year of devastating climate firsts, a dispiriting outcome to Cop29 and elections where climate was off the radar Ireland heard plenty of ‘eco rhetoric’ in 2024 but there was a clear sense that political leaders have not grasped the reality of the climate emergency Al Gore: ‘Speak truth to power like your world depends on it, ‘cos your world depends on it.
’ Photograph: Bennett Raglin/Getty/The New York TimesA case could also be made that those who had the reins of power have failed the country, given the latest evidence on the precarious state of Earth and increasing vulnerability of Irish citizens.established “a world-leading framework for national level climate action”, yet implementation has been “consistently inadequate”. That was the verdict of professors Barry McMullin of DCU, Hannah Daly of UCC, John Sweeney of Maynooth University and Clare Kelly of Trinity College – spelt out in a recent letter to political leaders. They were seeking “a full leaders’ debate devoted exclusively to and driven by an audience selected explicitly to represent future generations who are entirely reliant on the decisions being made now”. Their call went unanswered.Destroying the planet to save it — what could possibly go wrong? Their conclusion – “the inadequate action to date means we now need genuinely emergency scale measures that will, by definition, be significantly disruptive” – points the finger at policymakers. The final leaders’ debate on RTÉ had a token eight-minute segment on climate infused with a dearth of specifics.: “From my reading of the manifestos of the three largest political parties, the bad news is that, eco rhetoric notwithstanding, none of them have even begun to grasp the nettle of progressive, let alone radical, climate action.” There should be due recognition, however, of Fianna Fáil’s and the Greens’ backing of the European Commission proposal for a 90 per cent reduction in EU emissions by 2040 and to adopt carbon budgets in line with tha
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