Last year I and fellow Stop Climate Chaos supporters concerned about the environment pressed the D'il and the incoming Government to take climate change seriously. We staged a protest for Umbrella Action Day and we walked around Sandymount Strand in Dublin with a sea of dancing umbrellas on a sunny day.


This summer we were at it again, telling the Government how to start reducing Ireland's over-sized carbon footprint. We went back to the same beach to demand that the Government put a clear and fair price on carbon across the whole economy. We marked one year of the new Government with this event and a new leaflet that graphically illustrates Ireland's record on greenhouse gas emissions compared with that of other countries.


Right now, Ireland has the fifth highest emissions per person in the rich world, at 17 tonnes of CO2 for every man woman and child in the country. This is a horrid fact to think about because Ireland is such a beautiful and small country, yet it is responsible for so much damage!

However, a lot of us are trying to change this fact and here is what we are doing: The people of Ireland are calling for the Government to pass a law which ensures that Ireland does its fair share to prevent climate chaos by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 3% a year.

According to statistics, Ireland has a higher material input and consumption than some other European countries and below average resource productivity. Ireland would need to increase its resource productivity by 25% to reach the EU-15 average. The Ecological
Footprint analysis established that if everyone on the planet consumed as much as an Irish resident, three planet Earths would be needed to support current global resource consumption.


This means that we as the people of Ireland need to show a lot more consideration to our planet! Ireland is a small island with a population of 4.5 million people. So, let's hope that Ireland doesn't get much bigger.... or else we are all in serious trouble!