Climate change worse than any terrorist attack
Records for heavy rain, flooding, hurricanes and typhoons, as well as drought and dust storms, are increasingly being broken.
Reports in last week’s Irish media alone mention 10 million Chinese people affected by typhoon, thousands homeless after hurricanes in Florida and flash floods bringing chaos to Cornwall, Derry, etc.
Research proving that rainfall is becoming heavier in Britain and Ireland will come as no surprise to anyone caught in heavy rain recently.
Dr Jim Osborn of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia has found that, in the 1960s, 7% of all rain fell as heavy rain whereas during the 1990s 15% of rainfall was classified as heavy.
As atmospheric temperatures continue to rise, so the weather at mid-latitudes will continue to become wetter.
The catastrophic effects of unfolding climate change are worse than any terrorist attack. Avoiding this nightmare scenario of tragic loss of life requires a cut of 60%-80% in current carbon dioxide emissions according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The dramatic rise in insurance claims worldwide is also part of this trend.
The Kyoto protocol is a tiny first step, aiming at a 5.2% global reduction in 1990 carbon dioxide levels by 2012 at the latest.
Far from even complying with the generous derogation given to Ireland (allowing an increase of 13%), greenhouse gas emissions here in 2002 were 29% above the 1990 level, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office.
Meanwhile, the Government continues to deny the gravity of current climate change. By failing to reward and develop low-energy economic activity in Ireland, the Government is guilty of being party to an unspeakable crime against humanity worldwide.
The Green Party in Ireland is determined to ensure that all people can have a good quality of life in a truly sustainable society rather than one which is hell-bent on its own destruction.
Trevor Sargent
Leader
Green Party
Dáil Eireann
Dublin 2
