President calls on global leaders to 'step up for climate action'

President Michael D Higgins said he agrees with UN secretary general António Guterres that the era of global boiling has arrived.

'We have a responsibility as heads of state and heads of government to respond to Secretary-General Guterres’ statement, to ignore it would be a dereliction of our duty of care to our shared planet,' said President Michael D Higgins.

In a stark warning, President Michael D Higgins has said we must all increase the urgency of our response to the existential threat of climate change.

Echoing the words of UN secretary general António Guterres, who this week said the challenge is now to “turn a year of burning heat into a year of burning ambition”, President Higgins said politicians and citizens must immediately act to tackle carbon emissions.