'Nature may turn against us' without radical change, Robinson warns Seanad

Ms Robinson also noted a need to change the narrative around climate change to a more positive one and to silence naysayers

Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson told the Seanad that the Government should be open to borrowing some of the money of 'our children' to invest in combatting climate change. Picture: Maxwells

Our grandchildren may not have a livable future unless Ireland acts on climate change now, former president Mary Robinson has said.

Citing recent presentations by scientists John Rockström and Carlos Nobre, Ms Robinson said that the world is heating to a degree that it has never done before. 

Addressing the Seanad on Wednesday, Ms Robinson said: "They made it clear that we have not more than six years to radically change course. If we don't do so, then nature may turn against us."

She said that, if it is necessary, the Government should be open to borrowing some of the money of "our children and grandchildren" to invest in combatting climate change.

"Think of it. They may not have a livable future if we do not do enough now," the former President of Ireland said.

She also noted a need to change the narrative around climate change to a more positive one and to silence naysayers.

We have to realise that we are on the same side, and it is the side that has to win because we have to be thinking of the next generation.

The urgent and serious risk must be acknowledged, but simultaneously we must recognise that we are on the cusp of a clean energy, healthier, safer, fairer world. 

However, we are not moving fast enough. The fossil fuel lobby is one of the biggest impediments to moving fast enough, Ms Robinson, who is chair of the Elders, added.

Almost $2bn (€1.8bn) is spent per year subsidising "a fuel that is harming the world", the Seanad heard.

Mary Robinson said that every country in Europe will likely face more litigation over weak climate policies. Picture: Maxwells

There needs to be a shift towards providing better incentives to move towards clean energy such as greater subsidies for farmers.

"We don't see enough just transition out globally, which is a big problem," Ms Robinson said, " but we also need just transition in to affordable, accessible, and renewable energy."

It is also key to make sure that we can enforce against the big emitters — the big companies and the big sovereign oil-, gas-, and coal-funding bodies, and governments not moving fast enough.

Some of this can be done through court cases, Ms Robinson said, adding that every country in Europe will likely face more litigation over weak climate policies, following the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in favour of the 'Swiss grannies'.

Unless everybody responds to the issue as an urgent crisis, we are making it much more likely that future generations will face an unlivable world, she added.

It will start with the poorest countries and they will move in their millions. It is predicted that more than 1m people may move by 2050

People are already moving within their own countries, and will be driven out because of extreme flooding and drought, and this is something the world needs to be ready for, Ms Robinson explained.

During Wednesday's Seanad discussion, senator Eileen Flynn took the opportunity to recall meeting Ms Robinson when she was six-years-old while in a women's refuge with her mother.

Meeting a young girl in that environment, some may assume they would grow up to be "nothing", Ms Flynn said, but she has the privilege to stand in the Seanad in the same place that Ms Robinson herself once did.

Ms Flynn said that there needs to be investment in poorer communities as part of Ireland's climate action, ensuring that the next generation can have the opportunities to become whatever they want to be.

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