People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith has said that a report released this week in the scientific journal Nature which showed that the Greenland ice sheet is melting at ‘unprecedented levels’ should act as a “wake up call for governments across the world to the clear and present danger of climate change.”
Currently, Greenland’s ice sheet is melting 50% higher than at pre-industrial levels and 33% quicker than at 20th-century levels.
The TD for Dublin South Central said that the news of the ice sheet melting provided “tangible and unambiguous evidence to back up the IPCC and other reports on the severity and immediacy of the climate change threat.”
She said that governments all over the world now need to double down on radical measures to combat climate change which threatens the very existence of life on this planet.
She said: “The report in the scientific journal, Nature, shows us that the ice sheet is melting at an unbelievable level. This along with the IPCC and other reports show us that governments’ need to take radical action now on climate change.
“As an island nation, rising sea levels is a very concerning problem as many of our seaside towns and villages will feel the impact of increased numbers of floods and more extreme flooding into the future.
“For our part, the Irish government has no choice but to pass my climate emergency bill without delay and ban the issuing of further licences for fossil fuel exploration in Ireland. If they do not do this they will confirm the belief that protection the fossil fuel industry is more important to them than their contribution to the fight against climate change.
“Other measures that must be brought in without delay are a tax on the profits of fossil fuel companies, retrofitting of homes and public buildings, massive public investment in green energy, and free public transport.”
The Climate Emergency bill will be at committee stage in the Dáil on Tuesday 18 December. There is a demonstration being organised at the gates of Leinster House to coincide with the committee deliberations. The groups organising the demo include left political parties and environmental groups.