Dear Editor,
This past week, Ireland has experienced a rare September heatwave; the first of the 21st century.
At the time of writing, all 25 weather stations monitored by Met Éireann are exceeding their Long Term Average temperatures by a minimum of 3℃ and, in some cases, in excess of 5℃.
Whilst there remains 3 weeks of September, it is likely to be our warmest September on record – for the time being.
Simultaneously throughout the week, there have been hugely damaging floods in Greece, Spain, Hong Kong, Bulgaria, Brazil, United States, and Algeria. Many hundreds of people have lost their lives and many thousands more will be at risk in future.
We must be cognisant that these impacts – heatwaves, floods, disease emergence, droughts, crop failures – remain in their infancy. As climate change continues with no resemblance of abatement, we must repeatedly call out the occurrence of these events which do not need to happen in the way that they will continue to occur, and with worsening effects.
Unfortunately, our current economic system dictates no solutions to the crises we face.
A new report from the Lancet showed that at the current rate, it would take 220 years for countries to decouple emissions from GDP.
Another UN report released this week detailing our progress with regards the Paris Climate Agreement found that even with the current commitments made by governments, we are far off track from any reduction in global temperature.
That is to say, what we have been doing up to now, the commitments we have made and the actions we are taking are insufficient.
We frankly do not have the time for incremental tinkering of the status quo. If all aspects of the planet are to thrive, a radical change is needed.
We are past 1.2℃ of warming – we have a very limited time to prevent a rise above 1.5℃.
Now is the time to act.
Is mise le meas,
Criodán Ó Murchú
An Taisce Climate Committee Member Peterswell, Co. Galway
