Big week ahead for Irish climate movement

September 13th, 2019

The global climate movement is expected to face a week of reenergized civil disobedience, insurgency and hope next week, and the Irish climate campaigners are warming up. 

From judgment day for the Government in the landmark Climate Case Ireland to the global school strike next Friday, green anticipation is running through the veins of Irish climate campaigners. 

Here are some of the highlights to keep an eye out for over the coming weeks.

Climate Case Ireland team addressing media at the High Court Photo: Niall Sargent

Judgment
day for the State

On
September 19, the High Court is scheduled to issue a decision on a landmark
case
brought against the State by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) in
a bid to it to account for its underwhelming policy aims in the its climate
mitigation plan released in 2017.

In late
2017, FIE obtained leave for judicial review of the plan, arguing on the basis
that it was inconsistent with our national, EU and international obligations.

The Plan
outlines a goal to achieve a climate resilient economy by
mid-century
 with an 80 per cent
reduction in emissions by 2050 compared to 1990 levels across various sectors,
including agriculture and transport.

FIE
argue
, however, that that the State’s plan does not do enough to reach this
target or the EU’s legally imposed target of 20 per cent reduction by 2020 from
2005 levels. The group wants to see the plan quashed and sent back to the
Government for remaking in accordance with the law.

The
case was last heard in January, and the final countdown for judgment day has
already begun. Activists at FIE have called on concerned citizens to join them
for the delivery of the decision at 1pm on the Quays by the Four Courts next
Thursday. 

Missing
class for climate

On
September 20, children around the world are skipping school to join a global
school strike for climate. Thousands of young people in Ireland and around the world
are expected to walk out of their classrooms on next Friday and take to the streets
to voice their demands for immediate climate action. 

In
Ireland, rallies will take place in
numerous locations
across the country including Dublin, Cork, Limerick,
Galway, Tralee and Dundalk.

Inspired
by the world’s youngest pioneering climate campaigner, Greta Thunberg, young
campaigners have called on all concerned citizens to join them. 

Fridays
for Future, one of the organising group behind the youth climate uprising in Ireland,
said that while the movement will remain youth-led they “really want adults to
get behind us and support the climate movement at this strike”. 

As Greta
put it: “We need everyone to change everything.” 

Additionally,
adults across Ireland have volunteered to host 60 local support groups in their
communities and workplaces for people who can’t be present at the upcoming
rally.

“We had
a great response to our call for people to organise local actions in support of
the school strikes, and our volunteers are ready to help anyone who wants to
get involved in their community or workplace,” Áine O’Gorman, an activism
support coordinator at Stop Climate Chaos Coalition said.

Ms O’Gorman said that she was hoping to see schools and workplaces empty streets brimming with protestors on September 20. 

Greta THUNBERG, Swedish climate activist Photo: European Union / DAINA LE LARDIC
Greta THUNBERG, Swedish climate activist Photo: European Union / DAINA LE LARDIC

UN
Climate Summit

Earlier
in August, Greta Thunberg set sail on a racing yacht headed to New York to
arrive in time to attend the  highly
anticipated UN Climate Summit starting on September 23. 

Greta
is slated to speak at a youth meeting on September 21 with another speech
scheduled for the main summit on 23 September.

The
next round of UN-sponsored climate discussions will materialise in Chile in
December in which Ms Thunberg is also going to deliver a speech. 

Both
meetings are attended by world leaders who are signatories to the Paris Climate
Agreement under which they are obliged to take actions that will keep global
temperatures from rising to catastrophic levels. 

The
upcoming meeting is another attempt to convince Government officials to take
drastic measures to change that. 

“This is a big opportunity for those world leaders who say they’ve been listening to us to actually show that they’ve been listening to us, to actually prove that,” Ms Thunberg said.

About the Author

Shamim Malekmian

Shamim is a Senior Reporter at The Green News and a contributing writer to the Irish Examiner, Cork Evening Echo and the Dublin Inquirer.

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