John McGahon (Fine Gael)
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Obviously, traditional media have to react to what happens on a given day in the country or the world. I will mention as an example the wildfires that broke out in Australia just before Covid-19. I sometimes find that when it is reported that this type of stuff is happening - I could also mention that one third of Pakistan was under water in recent months - the link is not made with climate action or with the reasons these things are happening in various parts of the world. The average person who is sitting at home just thinks that what is happening in Pakistan is terrible. The reason that is happening in Pakistan is that we are not working really hard across the world to try to reduce our global temperatures. The media always report drought or wildfires in California - we are seeing more and more natural disasters as a result of climate change - but sometimes they fail to link these events back to the reason they are happening. Maybe it is not the role of the broadcaster to link it back to that, but can the witnesses see the angle I am coming from?