IPCC report shows “game is up for fossil fuel companies”
Radical action now only way to stop catastrophic climate change says TD
People Before Profit TD Brid Smith has described the IPCC report as “a wake-up call to humanity”, saying “either we take real action now or we risk the future habitability of the planet for humanity and the Earth’s biodiversity”
The report states that global Co2 emissions must be cut by 45% by 2030 and have reach zero by 2050 if we are to limit temperature increases to around 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The TD said that globally and in Ireland, emissions are actually increasing not reducing: “Ireland has failed miserably to do anything, we should be seeing a reduction of about 1 million tonnes of carbon a year, in fact, we are increasing emissions by about 2 million a year, our record is shocking.
“Globally this report means the game is up for fossil fuel companies. Measures like proposed increases in the Carbon tax will not suffice, it is simply a tax on ordinary people, we need a carbon profit tax that hits big oil, gas and coal corporations and that wealth needs to be invested in renewables to make the global shift needed.
“We need a clear signal sent to fossil fuel corporations, you can’t play with the planet’s future, we are ending exploration for new sources of oil and gas and we are going to tax every penny you make in profits to reinvest in renewables”.
Deputy Smith has a bill before the Dáil that seeks to ban all exploration for fossil fuels in Ireland and she urged Minister Naughton and the Government to drop their opposition to it and make it law.
“We need to act fast and a simple measure for this Government to show they understand the seriousness of this report would be to support my bill and call an end to fossil fuel exploration here.”
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