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When I was first on the ice of Antarctica in 1986 and visited it again in 1989, it was becoming apparent that the effects of global warming were a growing threat to humanity.
All around me were huge and spectacular icebergs, but unbeknownst to us, they were melting and the resulting impacts on wildlife and habitats would soon be sounding warning bells.
Jump in three decades and in the intervening years I have despaired for the future of the planet. So with some relief and a sense of cautious optimism and hope, I say: it’s been a great week for climate action!
A ray of hope
With the Climate Action Bill presented last week in Dáil and the most ambitious Climate Law ever passed in the European Parliament on Thursday, for the first time in many years I feel a cautious sense of hope.
I have been an environmental activist since my teens; throughout my twenties and thirties when I worked with Greenpeace for twenty years (10 of those years at sea); and throughout my forties and fifties, as my work as a field ecologist continued to focus on what is the greatest threat humanity has faced over the past three decades and beyond.
The ice is melting so fast in Antarctica that the sea level is expected to rise by 2.5 meters. (Nature.com)
Source: Grace O’Sullivan MEP
It was this existential threat that prompted me to pursue politics. I felt that my work as an activist needed to expand into the political arena.
I believed, and continue to believe, that meaningful and shocking action in this life-threatening catastrophe can only occur with the support of ‘the powers that be’.
More than three decades after I set foot on the continent of Antarctica, those earlier warnings have skyrocketed to the point where the planet is now in an emergency situation.
We are on the verge of collapsing into an irreversible destruction of life on planet Earth. This is life in all its forms, including animal life, plant life, insect life, marine life and, most alarmingly, human life.
When I first became actively involved in climate activism, some of the terms that even children are familiar with were now not widely known or understood. It was the 1980s and the phrases climate change and global warming were largely dropped.
In those days, and indeed for decades to come, activism and concern in this area were largely seen as the paranoid fixations of hypersensitive hippies.
While awareness of the impacts of climate change has grown exponentially in recent years, we have lagged behind in meaningful climate action. This despite scientific evidence highlighting the effects of global warming and repeated warnings that excessive greenhouse gas emissions and knock-on effects on climate and weather could lead to the total destruction of life in the world. Earth if not controlled.
A mountain to climb
I am still very, very concerned about the current state of the planet and the monumental hard work and system change that must occur if we are to save this beloved earth of ours.
I myself will have a quiet celebration to commemorate this historic week in the fight against climate change. The double news around national and EU climate legislation is a welcome step in the right direction.
It is a pivotal moment and these past few days have been exciting for me and any celebration will be understated and overshadowed by the knowledge that there is still much to be done and the work begins now.
For the European Climate Law to be enacted, it must be approved by the European Council. With the support for the climate legislation emanating from the European Council and the general public pressure, I am optimistic and I hope that the heads of state of the 27 members of the European Union consider it opportune to respond positively to the will of the public consensus in rapid growth, backed by irrefutable scientific evidence, that we are at the most important turning point in the history of the modern world.
The double news of such a decisive advance in national and European legislation is not to be mocked. I’m not being frivolous when I say: you wait 35 years for one bus and two come! However, I am well aware of the need for greater ambition in the fight to save the planet from the ravages of the climate emergency in which we find ourselves.
We are on borrowed time if we want to have any hope of avoiding irreversible destruction of life on our planet.
As a mother of three daughters, I know that I am not alone in the anxiety I feel for the future of my children and in the overwhelming sense of responsibility I feel around my commitments to do everything possible to play my role in securing the future. safety and recovery of our planet, our lifeline.
Legally binding national and international commitments give weight to our fight against time and help to ensure that all the decisions we make as individuals, as organizations and as nations are weighed against the goal of climate neutrality.
No news is bad news
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Legislation on climate action has the potential to make a huge difference to people’s lives. It has the potential to improve the quality of life and improve the way we work and live.
By introducing legislation in Ireland that emerged after a process involving all parties, and reinforced by Thursday’s successful vote on the European Climate Law, we put ourselves in a strong position as we move forward in the fight against climate change. climate change.
In recent years, Ireland has been described as lagging behind when it comes to climate action. Next year I hope to mark the sixth anniversary of the Paris Agreement as a proud citizen and public representative of an Ireland that can be proudly called a leader, as we move towards climate neutrality.
Grace O’Sullivan is an environmental MEP from Southern Ireland, activist and environmentalist for peace, climate and social justice. She is the spokesperson for the Green Party of Ireland in the Navy.
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