Ireland Ranked Worst European Country On Climate Change

Ireland has been ranked as the worst country in Europe for taking action against climate change for the second year in a row.

The Climate Change Performance Index was launched as part of the United Nations Climate Conference (COP 24) in Katowice, Poland, and is produced annually on the basis of joint analysis by two organisations; Germanwatch and the NewClimate Institute.

This year's report places Ireland 48th out of 56 countries worldwide, up one place from last year.

It determined Ireland's performance in the Greenhouse Gas Emissions category as very low, and the region is also among the lower ranking performers in the Energy Use category.

Despite this, the Government was commended for passing the Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill and for the Citizens' Assembly process which produced far-reaching recommendations for climate action.

As a result, Ireland's performance on international climate policy has been rated medium, but experts have warned that "existing climate mitigation efforts will not enable Ireland to achieve either its EU 2020 or 2030 targets domestically".

Following the ranking, Christian Aid Ireland has called for immediate action on the issue.

Jennifer Higgins, Policy and Advocacy Advisor at Christian Aid, who is currently attending the UN Climate Conference in Katowice said: "This report, and Ireland's dismal ranking, clearly shows that Ireland continues to be bottom of the pack when it comes to tackling climate change, further reinforcing our status as a laggard rather than a leader when it comes to ambition on climate change.

"This is not the first time we have been put in this position, how many reports showing our shameful positioning in Europe will it take before the government starts implementing the real, ambitious and urgent change needed to tackle climate change.

"The recent IPCC special report clearly shows that the world has limited global greenhouse gas emissions to under 1.5 degrees and that we need to do it while it is still feasible. Policy makers in Ireland need to act now and shift from incremental change to transformational change. Only then can we achieve a secure and sustainable future."



(JG)