Tackling Climate Change

The EPA’s free Climate Change lecture series has been running since late 2007, bringing a range of Irish and international speakers to The Mansion House in Dublin to update Irish audiences on the science of climate change, and possible responses to it.

Where are we now

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and adapting to the impacts of inevitable climate change, are arguably the biggest global challenges we face today. An international consensus on action was reached in Paris in 2015 with many countries introducing national laws to tackle climate change.

The UK’s 2008 Climate Change Act was a pioneering commitment to set a legally binding target for reducing national emissions. In this 10th anniversary year of the Act, how is the UK doing? Is there a gap between action and the target? How will Brexit affect progress in the future?

The EPA, as part of the National Dialogue on Climate Action and in conjunction with the Royal Irish Academy, will host a public lecture on adapting to climate change. Lord John Krebs will present the lecture: Tackling Climate Change: Rhetoric or Reality?

The lecture will take place in The Round Room, The Mansion House, Dawson St, Dublin 2 and will be chaired by Dr John Bowman so set so time aside on 15th May 2018. Registration will take place from 6.30pm The lecture starts at 7pm followed by Q&A and closing by 8.30pm. Attendance is free, with advance booking through Eventbrite

About Lord John Krebs

Lord Kreb is Emeritus Professor of Zoology in the University of Oxford.  His research area is behavioural ecology and he has published more than 300 research papers, reviews, articles and books. He served as Chairman of the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee from 2010 to 2014; and President of the British Science Association in 2012-13.  He currently sits on the Energy and Environment Select Committee. He was the founding Chair of the UK Climate Change Committee Adaptation Sub-Committee between 2009 and 2017 and is currently a member of that committee. He has received a number of awards and honours including 17 honorary degrees, Fellowship of the Royal Society, the US National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the US Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina).

Ireland – Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015

The enactment of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 is noted on the government website as a landmark national milestone in the evolution of climate change policy in Ireland.

As a followup, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughten T.D on January 19th  2018) published Ireland’s first statutory National Adaptation Framework. This was prepared under the Act and sets out the potential implications of climate change for Ireland and specifies the national strategy for the development of adaptation measures by key sectors and by local authorities.

To learn more click the link to the National Adaptation Framework here

Creating change 

Its worth noting climate change will affect all of us in some way, it will create opportunities and cause suffering and over time it will surely destabilise existing beliefs and attitudes.

Climate change will open routes for new discussions and action for example “the circular economy” and give the freedom and space to individuals, groups and leaders to work together for  positive change therefore the more we know about climate change the better.