Time running out but opportunities continue

Minister Pippa Hackett says the report from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change signals the need for collective action to avert the worst impacts of climate change

Reacting to the publication earlier this week of the IPCC assessment on the state of climate change report, Laois Offaly based Minister, Pippa Hackett, said: “This report is as clear as it gets that the window to act on climate change is closing. For Ireland the report predicts more intense heatwaves and increased flooding as temperatures rise. Some changes are irreversible but I remain an optimist. In this challenge there is opportunity for positive change.”

The IPCC assessment finds that climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying; that many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years; and that some of the changes already set in motion - such as continued sea level rise - are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years.

“You will hear scientists and my Government and party colleagues asking for collective effort at a national, regional and global level. I’m asking for the same collective effort in the Midlands. I see many examples where individuals, communities, businesses and state agencies are collaborating and pursuing potential in the transition to a lower carbon economy. I welcome this and will support wherever I can. This will see tangible improvements to our quality of life, to the air we breathe, to our daily commute, to jobs being created” says Minister Hackett.

“To those who are not addressing Climate Change I say failure to review what we do in our own backyards is contributing to devastating consequences, both at home and for those vulnerable populations globally who have done the least to cause the problem.”

The Irish Government recently passed the Climate Act which puts Ireland on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.