Ms Doireann Walsh:

I wish the Acting Chairman, committee members and fellow young people a good morning. My name is Doireann Walsh and I am 15 years old. I am a third-year student at St. Brogan's College in Bandon, County Cork, and I am involved with Youth Work Ireland through the youth participation panel.

Climate change is one of the most significant issues facing young people today, not only in Ireland but across the world. Climate change is also something about which I am very passionate. In fact, last year, I won the junior climate change award at the ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards alongside two of my friends.

Today, I would like to take a look at how climate change affects society and what is being done to help. In the past couple of years, we have seen temperatures rise and new record temperatures being recorded, like how the Phoenix Park weather station saw its hottest ever temperature of 33°C, which is 8°C hotter than its long-term average. The Met Office in the UK had to issue its first ever red weather warning for heat with temperatures reaching up to 40°C in some areas. This is no coincidence and is down to a group of gases called greenhouse gases. They trap heat in the atmosphere and warm the planet. Over time, as a society, we have become more industrialised and, as humans, we have emitted more greenhouse gases than ever before. The heat that is trapped by gases is pushed back down into the earth and makes the surface hotter.

The gradual trend of increasing temperatures is incredibly dangerous for humans. Young children and elderly adults do not fare well in hot temperatures and this type of weather can also cause wildfires. Climate change is also the cause of more often and extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes and extreme rainfall, which causes flooding and blocks access to clean water and electricity. Warm air can hold more water so a hotter earth can also cause more rain to fall.

There is a way to help slow the effects of climate change, however. There needs to be a large focus on renewable energy and less reliance on fossil fuels. When fossil fuels are burned they produce carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas. Renewable energy is a better alternative because it uses resources that can be replenished faster such as sunlight or wind. There is the carbon tax on fossil fuels, which has been in place since 2010 and has seen an increase in each budget. There are also grants from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, for buying an electric vehicle or getting solar panels installed. Although it is great to see measures like this put in place, one thing I would really like to see would be a new law providing that all houses built from 2024 onwards need to have solar panels installed and that from 2030, all houses, including those built before 2024, will need to have solar panels installed. I hope the global community can continue working together to combat climate change and leave a prosperous earth for future generations. I thank members for listening to me today.