Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

This is one of the most important debates in which I have ever participated in this House, and I have been here for quite a while. Climate change and global warming constitute the greatest problem facing humanity today and I do not say that lightly. People may say that problems such as drought are more important and approximately 1 billion worldwide do not have access to clean water. The difficulty is, however, that that figure will double or treble if the current rate of increase in global warming continues. People may say that poverty is a bigger problem and I am all for supporting those involved in the relief of poverty at home and abroad. It is clear, nonetheless, that global warming will cause the poor to become poorer. Hunger is a serious problem also but global warming will ensure that those who exist at subsistence levels will starve if it remains unchecked. People may also say that flooding is a major problem and we have seen what happened in Bangladesh in recent weeks. Imagine what will happen to such low-lying countries, however, if global warming continues to prompt a rise in sea levels — they will be directly in the firing line of catastrophic flooding, worse than hitherto experienced.

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