Climate change and sustainable society

Recent events such as Hurricane Sandy and the Australian heatwave provide further evidence that the variability of the global climate system is increasing.

A recent report, the US National Climate Assessment, concludes that extreme weather events are going to become more frequent.

All of this points to the fact that the system has become imbalanced through the increase in one of the inputs, namely the concentration of so called ‘green house gases’.

Yet despite the increasing evidence of instability there seems to be a relative decrease in the amount of policy coverage in the mainstream media on this topic and our ruling elites seem mute on looking at the obvious solutions. There seems to be a feeling that the topic is separated from the current priority of economic woe. Yet the opposite is the case.

The current global economic system, which promotes the theology of unregulated individualism as a measure of real freedom, can never provide a viable solution to the problem of climate change and is probably a net contributor. The solutions have to be collective and societal in nature with planning, sustainability and regulation key tools.

There is now more than ever a need for real debate not just on the obvious issue of climate change but on whether we are interested in a sustainable society.

Barry Walsh

Blackrock

Cork