President Catherine Connolly has said she will do “everything” in her power to keep climate action “at the top of our national and international agenda”.
Ms Connolly said it was “abundantly clear” from the latest report from the Climate Change Advisory Council that Ireland must “decarbonise and do so with the greatest urgency”.
Both the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Climate Change Advisory Council have previously said that Ireland could face fines of between €8 billion and €26 billion for breaching emissions targets.
Speaking at an An Taisce seminar in Dublin on Wednesday, Ms Connolly described the figures as “incredible”.
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The President said “without a doubt” climate change, along with ongoing wars, pose an “existential threat to our civilisation’s future”.
“As President, I will use my role to foster awareness and inspire action, using my voice and the platform of the presidency to highlight the urgency of climate action to support communities, because tremendous work is being done on the ground by communities, scientists and activists working for change, and to build … on the real and close connection between Irish people and nature,” she said.
Ms Connolly said there was a moral duty to future generations “to act now” to protect “our shared planet and our shared homes”.
“Transformative action is required, action that places environmental responsibility and climate justice at the heart of everything we do,” she said.
“This is not simply about carbon budgets, our focus on greenhouse gas emissions, it is about fairness, justice, the quality of life we leave behind and the kind of country we want to give to our children and our grandchildren.”
[ How will Ireland’s climate worsen over the next 20 years?Opens in new window ]
Ms Connolly also said that energy poverty was a growing issue for many households who face rising energy costs and “increasing climate vulnerabilities”.
“Above all, we need to empower and to enable people so that they may have the agency and be equipped with the knowledge and skills to act as agents and drivers of change to show ingenuity but also be politically engaged,” she said.
“Climate education must also encompass emotional and values based learning, one that acknowledges feelings of fear, anxiety and a sense of being overwhelmed by the gravity and magnitude of the climate problem that faces us now, but also one that develops values that support solidarity and a just transition.”
She also said that it must be ensured that climate change “does not further disrupt education” as is happening in other nations.
