Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

Would the Tánaiste agree that the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, has not got the attention it deserves due to the desperate situation in Ukraine and concerns about the cost of energy and security of supply? This report makes for alarming reading. It is another serious wake-up call. The world is nowhere near on track to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2050. There is not a hope that will be met. In fact, the evidence points to a 3°C rise by the end of this century. We are heading towards catastrophic levels of warming with mass extinctions and the likely end of civilisation as we know it. Introducing the report, the UN Secretary General António Guterres said that countries and businesses were lying. "Lying" is a strong word. It is an extraordinary statement but unfortunately it is true. That includes Ireland and Europe.

It is now time to recognise that extreme climate change cannot be averted, never mind limited, as long as the current socioeconomic system of capitalism remains in place. It is a system where eight men have as much wealth as 50% of the poorest world population; where in the course of a deadly pandemic the already super-rich 1% got richer while the 99% got poorer; and where production takes place for the profit of the few as opposed to the needs of the many. This represents a world gone badly wrong.

The IPCC report calls for transformational change. We need not just a transition to a more sustainable world; we need a just transformation to a sustainable, healthy and just world. Instead of the mayhem of the market, we need to use the resources of the planet, which are limited, to meet the needs of all the people in a sustainable and healthy environment. People like me on the left have been arguing for such a transformation for far too long. Time is running out and the window to a better future is closing. We need to start a discussion about the transformation we need and how to go about achieving it. Capitalism offers only empty promises and at best half measures, too little, too late. It is time to stop the pretence. We need to get real. Does the Tánaiste agree it is time for real transformational change?

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