Hundreds protest outside Dail to demand urgent climate action

Published by Caitriona Rogerson on October 18, 2018October 18, 2018

October 18th, 2018

Hundreds of citizens held a demonstration in front of Dáil Éireann on Tuesday to demand rapid and ambitious action from the Irish Government to tackle climate change.

The public demonstration, organised by the Dublin Ecofeminist Collective and co-hosted by the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition, Young Friends of the Earth and Not Here Not Anywhere, came in response to the publication last week of a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Drawing on data from thousands of international experts, the report concluded that global carbon emissions must decrease by 45 per cent before 2030 for global warming to remain under a +1.5°C threshold – the tipping point past which critical damage to ecosystems, human health and ultimately the survival of human civilisation, will be inevitable.

The report has provoked alarm from civil society in Ireland and abroad.

Photo: Reamonn McLoughlin

Speaking at the event, Claudia Tormey, member of the Dublin Ecofeminist Collective warned that “the science was clear”.

“We have 12 years left to dramatically reduce our carbon emissions. The impacts of a global warming above 1.5°C will be beyond catastrophic for humanity and ecosystems on this planet,” she said.

“Through the Citizens’ Assembly, the people of Ireland have already asked the Government to put the fight against climate change at the forefront of its policies. An increase of the carbon tax was part of the recommendations and this will not be implemented, according to the Budget 2019 announced this week.

“This is one of many instances where our Government has failed to listen and respond to the public’s demands on this issue,” she added.

The protest saw hundreds of students, activists and members of the general public unite in favour of climate action, calling on leaders to wake up and honour the commitments they made through the Citizen’s Assembly.

“It is no secret that Ireland is amongst the worst performing European countries in terms of reducing our impact on the climate and the environment, and we are already set to miss our 2020 targets,” said Clodagh Kelly, member of the Dublin Ecofeminist Collective.

“People who feel strongly about a broad range of issues such as the environment, social justice, refugees rights and more have united with one clear ask: take climate action now,” she added.

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