'The climate crisis is too important to be left to politicians': UCC hosts two-day climate justice forum

Oxfam Ireland chief executive, Jim Clarken, said the climate crisis is now too important to be left to politicians alone to address. File picture: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

Grassroots organisations, activists, and community leaders committed to shaping a fairer response to the climate crisis will gather in University College Cork on Friday for a two-day conference.

Speaking at the opening of the Ground Up Climate Justice Forum, Oxfam Ireland chief executive, Jim Clarken, said the climate crisis is now too important to be left to politicians alone to address. 

"While political systems across the world falter, activists and community groups emerge as beacons of hope," Mr Clarken said. 

"These collectives possess the local knowledge, wisdom and commitment necessary to drive real change. Not only do states have a responsibility to heed their insights and facilitate ground-up approaches to climate action, we believe that all influential institutions do." 

Oxfam aims to more effectively enable grassroots-led actions and initiatives, and the Ground Up Climate Justice Forum is a hopeful beginning, Mr Clarken said. 

"The climate crisis is too important to be left to politicians alone.

“The window for effective intervention is rapidly closing. All sectors of society – including government, NGOs, businesses, trade unions, social movements and individuals - must collaborate in unprecedented ways. Only through unified, decisive action can we hope to mitigate the worst impacts of climate breakdown and build a resilient future.

“The climate crisis is not just an environmental issue; it is a systemic failure rooted in the logic of endless extraction, exploitation and the prioritisation of economic growth over all else."

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The recent wildfires in Donegal, Wicklow and Kerry, the droughts across Africa, all speak to a system that values profit over life, Mr Clerken said. 

The forum, taking place at UCC on April 11-12, gathers changemakers to build collective action towards a just future for all.

Participants include: Concern Worldwide; Plan International, Fridays for Future; Community Action Tenants Union (CATU Ireland); EcoJustice Ireland; and the Centre for Environmental Justice.

Seán McCabe from Bohemians F.C. Climate Justice Team; Jennie C. Stephens – Climate justice scholar and author – and Pádraic Fogarty – Founder of Rewild Your Land – will also speak, along with Feminist Communities for Climate Justice (NWC); and the Irish Donut Economics Network.

The event is part of a wider European project called ‘Imagining a Climate-Just Future’, which has been funded by EU’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme.

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