Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

We need a radical shift because we are at a tipping point. We need to examine how society is organised. Addressing climate change is in people's interest. It is the clumsy handling of it that has alienated people. We need to devolve it locally but we also need to see that climate action is a massive job creator. A project is being promoted in South Africa under the banner of 1 million climate jobs. A massive job creation programme has been called for in areas such as renewable energy, public transport, ecosystem restoration and small-scale sustainable farming. Those issues can put the interests of workers and the poor at the head of a movement to combat climate change. It is a win-win situation for everybody except those at the top of society - the 1% who dominate, in their own interests, at the expense of us all. Unless the Government and its peers across Europe and America tackle the issue, and tackle inequality, then one cannot tackle climate change. It will be impossible to do so. While warning about the glaring inefficiencies in this country, we need to stand on its head the way we approach climate issues and how society is organised rather than blame ordinary people for a crisis which is demonstrably not of their making.

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