Irish Examiner view: World leaders must listen at Cop26

Ordinary individuals and communities are doing their bit to tackle climate change, such as Deirdre de Bhailís, who will be driving an electric vehicle to Glasgow for the conference 

A performer from Ocean Rebellion dressed as British prime minister Boris Johnson  on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow, ahead of the Cop26 conference. Picture: Andrew Milligan

THE 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (Cop26) opens tomorrow in Glasgow and has already been hailed as a potential game-changer in helping to save our planet from the ravages of global warming.

More than 190 world leaders will participate, along with tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses, members of NGOs, and individuals for 12 days of talks.

But as well as talk, it is important that they also listen — not just to each other but to ordinary individuals and communities who are doing their bit to tackle climate change.

Among those worth listening to is Deirdre de Bhailís, an engineer from Ventry on the Dingle peninsula who is passionate about living sustainably. She is part of a €5m ESB Networks project to measure the impact a low-carbon lifestyle will have on electricity usage.

While those global leaders will, of necessity, be using up millions of litres of aviation fuel to attend the conference, Deirdre will be driving an electric vehicle loaned to her by the ESB to Glasgow, via Belfast. 

“One of the reasons is that we want to really put the EV to the test,” Deirdre told RTÉ’s Paschal Sheehy, amid concerns that they may not be suitable for remote areas. “I’m on a mission to prove that we can do it .”

If members of a rural community can make sustainability work, they can inspire others to do the same.