Climate change findings will provoke a storm

The warnings in the IPCC report, regarding climate change and its impact on the planet, will provoke the usual dissension from those who fail to understand the science.

The evidence used by naysayers does not stand up to the peer-reviewed science of the IPCC.

The accepted science demonstrates that the balance of the global weather system is shifting, causing more extreme weather events, which are increasing in frequency.

The implications are profound and are significantly impacting on mainly poor people across the globe.

The consequences of climate change can range from food shortages, with their accompanying costs, to the destruction of fragile infrastructure and ecosystems. Some would argue, and with justification, that this crisis is the culmination of short-sighted economic policies that emphasise immediate return and accelerated growth. This has driven the aggressive global exploitation of natural resources, with no concern for the long-term impact.

The global corporate interests that promote this economic model will not sit idly by and let good science get in the way of handsome profit.

Thus, the airwaves will be filled with dissent and a face of respectability will be put on denial by dragging out spokespersons who have subtle connections to these industries. Future generations deserve better.

Barry Walsh

Blackrock

Cork