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Ireland has become the second country in the world to declare a climate emergency.<\/p>\nIreland has become the second country in the world to declare a climate emergency.<\/p>\n
The D\u00e1il made the decision on Thursday evening after an amendment to a parliamentary climate action report was agreed by both the Government and the opposition parties.<\/p>\n
It comes as EU leaders put action on climate change at the top of the agenda in the next five years.<\/p>\n
Climate Action Minister Richard Bruton said climate change has been \u201crightly\u201d described as the greatest challenge facing humanity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re reaching a tipping point in respect of climate deterioration,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings will deteriorate very rapidly unless we move very swiftly and the window of opportunity to do that is fast closing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that urgency had been injected into the debate by the protests by school students calling for action from parliaments around the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is justified that a level of urgency be injected into this debate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we speak of an emergency people often think of something unexpected that can be resolved through a sustained effort for a relatively short time. This is not an emergency of that sort. This is a much more challenging emergency in that we must change our behavior in profound ways and do so on a sustained basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chairwoman of the Oireachtas Climate Change committee Hildegarde Naughton welcomed the cross-party support in recognizing the need for urgency and declaring a climate and biodiversity emergency.<\/p>\n
She urged the government to fast track legislative changes.<\/p>\n
In a tweet she wrote: \u201cGood news at the end of the Dail motion today supporting the report of the Climate Action Committee, which I chair. We now have cross party support in declaring a climate and biodiversity emergency. Action now needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s climate action spokesman Timmy Dooley, who moved the amendment, said: \u201cUnless we cut emissions significantly by 2030, the consequences will be dire.<\/p>\n
\u201cBiodiversity loss is an existential threat that is fundamentally linked to the climate crisis and Ireland\u2019s response is similarly lacking,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
He maintained that if the Government implemented the recommendations made in the committee\u2019s report it would allow the country to get back on track and \u201cbring an end to our laggardly response to climate change\u201d.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s Brian Stanley also called for a climate emergency to be declared.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cClimate action should not be viewed as a burden. We should see it as an opportunity to create a stronger, more sustainable economy for everyone. To do that, however, we have no option but to radically transform our society and economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Green Party deputy leader Catherine Martin said young people realized that they will be the ones most affected by the \u201cshort-sightedness\u201d of Government today.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is also essential that in declaring a climate emergency we commit to concrete, real and identifiable action rather than just uniting around vague concepts,\u201d she told the D\u00e1il.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is little value in all declaring a climate emergency without committing to doing anything about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg, 16, who has led a movement of young people across Europe calling on leaders to take action, welcomed the declaration.<\/p>\n
She tweeted: \u201cGreat news from Ireland!! Who is next?<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd remember: #ClimateEmergency means leaving fossil fuels in the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this month the UK became the first country in the world to declare a climate emergency.<\/p>\n