'Ensure we have a future': Irish youth in climate appeal to Dáil
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Version 0 of 1. Group of 157 children aged 10 to 17 make recommendations on environment to politicians Ireland’s first youth assembly on the climate crisis has challenged politicians to lead a transformation of schools, supermarkets, farms, forests and businesses. A group of 157 children aged 10 to 17 filled the chamber of the Dáil, Ireland’s lower house of parliament, in Dublin to debate environmental priorities and issue 10 recommendations. In a statement on Friday the assembly urged elected representatives and adults to pay heed and said: “We are NOT experts. In our recommendations we offer ideas but we do NOT have all the answers.” The gathering was a starting point to protect and progress society, it said. “We call on you to listen to the science, to take on board our recommendations and to work on our behalf to ensure that we – and you – have a future.” The children and teens, drawn from all of Ireland’s 26 counties, matched the number of deputies who are elected to the Dáil. The Dáil Speaker, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, chaired proceedings and RTE carried a live broadcast. Conal O’Boyle, 17, from Donegal told the chamber the world was on a “fast lane to a climate breakdown” and called on children to unite. He criticised Ireland’s dependency on fossil fuels and the policymaker who had granted energy companies licences to drill off the west coast. “They have embarrassed this country on an international level when it comes to climate action.” Sioda Monaghan, 14, from Mayo, said ignoring the crisis was inhumane and not an option. “How many of us have paused to consider the cost of doing nothing?” she said. Recommendations included a ban on importing fracked gas, higher carbon taxes, climate impact labels on food, turning at least a 10th of farmland into forestry, and mandatory primary school teaching about sustainability. The taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, praised young people as climate leaders. “They’re the ones who understand the science. They’re the ones who get it. And, they are the ones who are demanding action from adults and politicians and from people in power and influence in politics and business and society.” Earlier this month, environmentalists heaped scorn on Varadkar after he said the climate crisis could have benefits such as warmer winters, lower heating bills and fewer deaths. Ireland is one of the EU’s worst carbon emission offenders and faces fines of more than €250m (£216m) for missing 2020 targets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adopting renewable energy. The government unveiled an ambitious plan in June that outlined measures to curb emissions and set a path for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Sceptics say trends in agriculture will derail the timetable and that some targets, such as having almost 1m electric vehicles on Irish roads, are fanciful. Jack Chambers, a climate spokesman for the opposition Fianna Fáil party, criticised Ireland’s record and urged authorities to not patronise young activists. “The government must not tell them that they will simply listen to their concerns, and merely applaud the assembly as a symbolic moment.” |