Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan TD today said that the Donegal Flooding described by Met Éireann as ‘unprecedented’ is part of the reality of our changing climate.
“This is a global problem. Although little reported in Ireland, 24 million people are affected by flooding in Bangladesh, Nepal and India, with a third of Bangladesh flooded and more than 800 people losing their lives. Next to be hit is the Gulf Coast of the US, where Tropical Storm Harvey has strengthened to a hurricane and is expected to cause ‘life threatening flooding.’”
“This sort of intense rainfall is in line with the predictions of Irish and international climate scientists. Unfortunately, their message is that this is only the beginning.”
“Our response must be to ensure that climate change is factored into the River Basin Management Plan which is open to public consultation until next week, ensuring that we manage river catchments and design our drainage system to cope with these more extreme events as much as possible.”
“Humanity simply cannot adapt to the level of climate change which we are currently headed for. Our government must abandon the role of climate laggard, and play our part in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Immediate and ongoing reductions in greenhouse gas emissions should be the core of our National Mitigation Plan. Our other decisions and plans including the annual Budget, the Capital Review and the National Planning Framework must also be based on supporting those reductions.”
