One Third of TDs have Signed Climate Change Pledge

With just a week to go to crucial international talks on climate change in Montreal over one third of TDs have now signed the Friends of the Earth Climate Pledge promsing that Ireland will do its fair share to prevent dangerous climate change.

The Pledge states that Ireland will have to cut our polluting carbon emissions by 60% of 1990 levels by 2050. It also makes clear that we must start now to take the steps to move to a low-carbon society and economy or we will face upheaval and crisis in the future. With current emissions running 25% above 1990 levels, a gradual pathway to a fair and sustainable level of pollution means a 2% reduction in emissions year on year from now until 2050.

A total of 59 TDs have signed the Climate Pledge so far, including the Fianna Fail chair of the Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, Sean Haughey and Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Ivor Callely. The other government backbenchers to have signed the Pledge are Sean Fleming, Denis O'Donovan and Jim Glennon of FF and Fiona O'Malley and Noel Grealish of the PDs. All 21 Labour TDs have signed the Pledge as have 12 members of the Fine Gael parliamentray party, including party leader Enda Kenny.

Oisin Coghlan, Friends of the Earth Director, commented:

"TDs are waking up to the threat posed by climate change. Not just to our sustained prosperity at home but to the poorest communties around the world who will be first and hardest hit. Friends of the Earth is pleased with the reponse to our Climate Pledge over the last month. The talks in Montreal are an oppotuniuty to build the public and political consensus on the urgency of tackling climate change, and they are an ideal time for the remaining two-thirds of TDs to demonstrate their commitment to Ireland doing its fair share. The public can use the campaign website, www.climatepledge.ie, to urge their local TDs to sign the Pledge."

"If we are to meet our tragets in Ireland we will need to do much more to move away from fossil fuels like oil, coal and peat and towards renewables like wind, solar and biomass. And we all need to use energy much more carfefully and efficiently," Mr Coghlan continued.

The full list of TDs who have signed the Pledge so far is as follows:
Bernard Allen, Niall Blaney, Dan Boyle, James Breen, Pat Breen, Tommy Broughan, Joan Burton, Ivor Callely, Paudge Connolly, Joe Costello, Simon Coveney, Jerry Cowley, Jimmy Deenihan, Olwyn Enright, Martin Ferris, Seán Fleming, Mildred Fox, Eamon Gilmore, Jim Glennon, Paul Gogarty, John Gormley, Noel Grealish, Tony Gregory, Seán Haughey, Michael D. Higgins, Joe Higgins, Brendan Howlin, Enda Kenny, Kathleen Lynch, Pádraic McCormack, Finian McGrath, Paddy McHugh, Liz McManus, Gay Mitchell, Arthur Morgan, Breeda Moynihan-Cronin, Catherine Murphy, Gerard Murphy, Denis Naughten, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Denis O'Donovan, Fergus O'Dowd, Fiona O'Malley, Brian O'Shea, Jan O'Sullivan, Seamus Pattison, Willie Penrose, Ruairi Quinn, Pat Rabbitte, Michael Ring, Eamon Ryan, Sean Ryan, Trevor Sargent, Joe Sherlock, Róisín Shortall, Emmet Stagg, Mary Upton, Jack Wall.