Labour Party Dáil candidate Ann Phelan said that climate change is a silent human crisis and the greatest emerging humanitarian challenge of our time.
She warned of its cause of suffering to hundreds of millions of people, most of whom are not even aware that they are victims of climate change.
“While our focus naturally has been on the economic crisis we cannot afford to ignore the reality of climate change. A recent Environmental Protection Agency report shows a significant decrease in Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions due to the recession. However it warns that if we are serious about creating a permanent low carbon economy we should not rely on a recession to meet our emission targets for the future.
“Science informs us that global warming must be capped at two degrees above pre-industrial levels in order to avoid catastrophe. We had an extreme weather event earlier this year resulting in floods and mudslides. Similar extraordinary climatic events in other countries reflects global warming in action, or are a foretaste of it.”
She added that what was most disappointing was that the Climate Change Committee set up by the Government has not met since October 2009 and despite many promises from both parties in government we are still waiting for action.
In April 2008 Minister John Gormley told a Green Party convention: “You all know that when we made that momentous decision to enter government our primary motivation was a desire to tackle the defining issue of our age — climate change.”
