Trócaire has welcomed the publication of the long-awaited Climate Action Bill.
Unfortunately this Bill, as it currently stands, does little to address Ireland’s responsibilities towards lowering our carbon emissions and working towards climate justice.
Time is limited! We only have a few short weeks before this Bill, named the ‘Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill’ becomes law which is why we need your urgent help. We cannot let Ireland continue to shirk its responsibilities around climate change.
We need you to tweet and meet your local TD. They are the people who are ultimately responsible for strengthening this Bill.
The next few weeks are critical to getting this Bill strengthened. Watch our video to find out how you can help…
Meet your TD in Dublin on 10th February
Meet your TD at the Stop Climate Chaos lobby event in Buswells Hotel, Dublin 2, on 10th February 2015.
Find out how to invite your TD to the event in Buswells Hotel by emailing or phoning Trócaire Campaign officer, Orla Quinn, at
[email protected] or 01 5053229. Orla will provide all the necessary information you need in advance of the meeting. Orla and other Stop Climate Chaos members will be at the lobby event to help and support you on the day.
You can use
this sample letter to to write a letter or email your TD’s and invite them to the lobby event in Buswells hotel.
If you can’t join us on February 10th, you can still lobby your TD in your local constituency, by organising a meeting with with your TD to discuss the issues. Email or phone Trócaire Campaign officer, Orla Quinn, at
[email protected]g or 01 5053229 for advice on organising and conducting this meeting.
You can also check out our
Activist Toolkit for further guidance on lobbying your TD.
Tweet Minister Alan Kelly TD and your local TD
Another powerful way to influence Minister Alan Kelly and your local TD is through twitter. Find your local TD’s twitter handle at
whoismytd.com
Here are four suggested tweets you can copy and paste. Remember to put your TD’s twitter handle in where it reads <your local TD>.
@alankellylabour Please ensure #climatebill includes definition of low carbon, independence of advisors, and principle of #climate justice.
@alankellylabour Please ensure #climatebill includes the recommendation for quick adoption of the first National Mitigation Plan.
@<your local TD> Our #climatebill is too weak and needs these urgent amendments: Will you act?
What’s wrong with the Climate Action Bill?
1. It fails to set a numeric target for emission reduction for the future. This is a fundamental flaw, as it means there is little concrete direction for the coming years. In place of a numeric target, an alternative option is to define what is meant by low carbon, which would at least provide some clarity. This definition is also missing!
2. The body tasked with giving advice to the Government on climate change matters is not independent, despite the advice from the Environment Committee that all members should be independent of State or stakeholder interests. Instead the Bill provides for a body of no more than 9 members, 4 of whom represent state bodies.
3. It does not provide for the inclusion of climate justice. The Climate Action Bill is about mapping out a strong and sustainable future for Ireland. It is also about ensuring that Ireland lives up to its global responsibilities. As a nation that has benefited from our own development to date, we need to do our fair share. The Tánaiste declared to the UN General Assembly in 2011 that “there is a compelling case for ‘climate justice’ – bringing developmental fairness to bear on the climate change agenda”. Provision for the principle of climate justice provides the opportunity to realise this.
4. Most worryingly, the Government’s recent decision to extend the one year deadline to produce a national mitigation plan to two years gets them ‘off the hook’. The last national climate change strategy expired in 2012 and now we are told that we may have to wait until 2017 for its replacement and before the next Government start to take climate action. This is not good enough! Nor does it bode well for Ireland’s commitment to take the necessary steps at the vital UN Climate Change Conference in Paris later this year.
This is a critical moment to put Ireland on the path to a sustainable future. Many of us have been campaigning for this moment since 2008. We can’t let it end in disappointment.
For campaigners in Northern Ireland, we will be in contact in March detailing how we can together help push climate change further up the political agenda at Stormont.
Drop in the Ocean? Ireland and Climate Change Trailer
On February 23, we will be releasing our documentary ‘Drop in the Ocean? Ireland and Climate Change.’ We’ve interviewed some of Ireland’s leading environmental scientists, writers and activists and asked them where Ireland fits in the global climate change picture. How is climate change affecting Ireland and what impacts will it have if carbon emissions remain unchecked? How do we contribute to it? And what role can Ireland play if we are to become part of the solution?
Read more:
