Climate change protesters buried their heads in the sand

Some 150 demonstrators of all ages gathered on Sandymount Strand on the east coast of Ireland on Saturday morning to carry out an unusual protest.



Ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris this November, Stop Climate Chaos say it is time for the government to take environmental issues “seriously” before the major talks “that will decide the future of global climate action.” Sorley McCaughey, a spokesperson for the group said the government has not kept promises to pass legislation that could help curtail pollution.





“The government have their heads in the sand on climate change. They promised to pass the Climate Bill into law before the summer recess but it is yet to happen," he said. “We currently have no action plan to address Ireland’s rising emissions, despite being among the worst in Europe when it comes to climate change emissions.” He added that the “serious lack of urgency” was resulting in the poorest communities in the world “who have done least to cause climate change, being hit the hardest”.



Earlier this year it was reported that Ireland could face sanctions for failing to meet EU emission targets for 2020. The EU Commission report published last February criticised the country’s “insufficient” climate change measures, predicting that Ireland will only be able to cut emissions by 3% instead of the required 20%. The government has publically indicated that complying with targets between 2017-2020 will be a significant challenge.