Director of Service, Environment Directorate, Louis Duffy
2021 will be remembered by all for the COVID19 pandemic that has already taken over five million lives and caused great disruption across the globe. It will also be remembered as the year when Global Climate Change Impacts were so extensive that Climate Change Denial began to reduce significantly. The scientists have warned us for decades that it would happen, but it takes decades for the impact to be felt.
Scientists talk in numbers that often people have difficulty conceptualizing. What does a 1.5circC change in temperature or a 1 metre rise in sea level mean? Met Eireann records show that the average annual air temperature at Cork Airport has already increased by over 1circC in the last 50 years. When and how will it affect us individually? We know that there are more severe weather events, but for the most part, life still goes on as normal. That is not the case in other parts of the world. For example, 13 EU States have declared that they are affected by desertification; climate migration has begun in Southern Africa, where changes in rainfall patterns have caused rivers to dry up and the land to become worthless for farming, forcing people to move to farm better land. It is expected that Climate change may force over 120 million people to migrate as sea level rise and weather pattern changes reach full impact.
Pictured at the Launch of this Initiative: Tim Lucey, Chief Executive, Elizabeth Maddox, Chair of the Older Person's Council and Cllr. Mary Linehan Foley