Minister Eamon Ryan has expressed how “we are at the dawn of a new industrial revolution”, as the world adapts to new ways in a bid to tackle the climate crisis.
Speaking at the event, Minister Ryan said that co-operation around climate and it “not being a divisive issue; not being a left-right issue; young-old; urban-rural; helps to deliver”.
Political co-operation on climate
“The UK could learn something from some of the politics we have here in Ireland in the last four/five years. We’re introducing a politics of co-operation around climate that also delivers,” the minister said.
With that co-operation in recent years, we’ve introduced a ban on fracking of gas; we’ve introduced a stop to state investment in fossil infrastructure; we’re now about to introduce a ban on new oil and gas exploration.
“Using political co-operation on climate, real effective change can happen quicker than people think.”
The minister noted that Ireland’s Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2020, which will replace the 2015 legislation, “really ramps up the ambition towards a 50% reduction in emissions by the end of this decade, and net zero by 2050”.
‘A change for the better’
“It’s a challenge beyond compare,” the minister added.
“It is a change for the better, though. It has to be a better system – a better economic, social, environmental system comes out of it and the way I see it is, we are at the dawn of a new industrial revolution.
This is a revolution that has to belong, can belong, to everyone. It comes into effect everywhere.
The minister said that in regards to Brexit, “it’s always typically about commercial trade and trade agreements don’t tend to be strong on environment”.
“I think we have a lot of work to do now in environmental co-operation,” he continued.
We do that north-south, in terms of making sure that the environment doesn’t recognise borders.
“The curlews are nesting up in the north shores of Antrim and then feeding in Dublin Bay. We have to co-operate on how we manage the environment.”
Without climate security, there is no security
Ireland took up a seat on January 1 this year as an elected member of the UN Security Council for the 2021-2022 term. The minister said that climate security is going to be central to Ireland’s mission on the council.
“Without climate security, there is no security,” the minister continued.
The next future development of global co-operation is around climate security – bringing peace and security in a whole range of other ways.
“The UK has been very progressive and positive in overseas aid in recent years; we similarly have a really good record in climate finance for adaptation.
“That’s actually what climate security is about – is recognising that in the less developed countries of this world, it is our obligation to make sure that their ability to adapt and finance their transition towards a more stable, adapted climate security world is in all our interests.
“We need to work collectively in that big international vision where this revolution is going – that it is peaceful and brings that sort of global just transition in everything we do.”