John Gibbons: The lie of the land — adapt or die

Does Ireland need to appoint a Ministry for the Future or a Future Generations Commissioner asks journalist and author John Gibbons in his new book The Lie of the Land

John Gibbons: "Ireland's dramatic shift towards the most polluting food sectors — driven by a small number of agribusiness giants and facilitated by the State — benefits the few while imposing huge costs on the many." Picture: Larry Cummins

As the world heats up, species are migrating away from the tropics and towards cooler climes. But for many species, the climate is changing far more quickly than they are capable of adapting to.

Humans are, of course, among the species being uprooted. In 2022, a record 32.6 million people were forcibly displaced as a result of floods, storms, wildfires and droughts. The Institute for Economics & Peace calculates that by 2050, upwards of a billion people will be climate refugees, driven from their homelands by environmental breakdown and the civil unrest and armed conflict it will trigger.