Urgency required to enact climate change legislation

While governments, financial markets and the international media devote endless resources in a attempt to save an unsustainable economic model everyone appears to be ignoring the real and present danger that is approaching. We are all passengers on the metaphorical Titanic as a true human crisis and tragedy unfolds. We continue predictable to ignore at our peril the consequences of our failed high carbon energy economic model. According to the findings of a report just published by the International Energy Agency providing the most thorough analysis yet of the worlds energy infrastructure we are fast approaching the last change to combat dangerous climate change. They are very clear in their observation that if we don’t act now to reduce our carbon emissions the opportunity to limit dangerous climate change will be lost forever.

If a fraction of the money used to bail out the failed private banking institutions in this country alone had been used to create sustainable jobs in developing renewable energy, investing in our energy infrastructure and supporting education and investment in new low carbon technologies, that would provide clean indigenous energy to our communities and industry, the economic future of this country would be secure.

Despite intensifying warnings over the past two decades from academic, scientific, medical and engineering institutions and United Nations organisations including the World Health Organisation, governments around the world are preparing yet again to postpone international agreement on climate change. What we are being told in no uncertain terms is that Economic development takes precedence over environmental protection and the very survival of humanity. Only by protecting our environment and investing in sustainable development infrastructure have we any real security. While Ireland beat Australia in the recent rugby world cup, they beat us in enacting crucial Climate change legislation last week. I plead with the Irish Government as a citizen of this country to follow their example and enact climate change legislation as soon as possible and begin the transformation of this country into a truly smart low carbon economy.