Ireland has just declared a climate and biodiversity emergency, becoming only the the second country in the world to do so after the UK.
The decision comes after an amendment to the Oireachtas report on climate change was accepted by the Government and the opposition parties on Thursday evening without a vote.
Climate Action Minister Richard Bruton said, “We’re reaching a tipping point in respect of climate deterioration.
“Things will deteriorate very rapidly unless we move very swiftly and the window of opportunity to do that is fast closing.”
Great news from Ireland!! Who is next?
And remember: #ClimateEmergency means leaving fossil fuels in the ground. #ClimateBreakdown #EcologicalBreakdown https://t.co/GTkyhg7Sam— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) May 9, 2019
Green Party deputy leader Catherine Martin told the Dáil, “It is also essential that in declaring a climate emergency we commit to concrete, real and identifiable action rather than just uniting around vague concepts.
“There is little value in all declaring a climate emergency without committing to doing anything about it.”
The UK was the first country to declare a climate emergency at the beginning of May, while the United Nations has warned we could have as little as 11 years left to limit a climate change catastrophe.
