Anyone who experienced the cold snap in Ireland over Christmas 2009 and January 2010 may wonder why there is so much talk about climate change and global warming.  It is easy to confuse weather and climate – the cold snap was weather while the average weather over an extended period can be regarded as climate.  Weather temperatures fluctuate up and down over 20 or 30 degrees Centigrade in the course of a year while climate change is concerned about a change of only 2 degrees Centigrade.  This makes it difficult to convince the general public of the urgency of the threat from global climate change.

It is a scientific certainty that the average weather across the entire globe is getting warmer and the rate of warming is such that it threatens our very existence.  This excessive warming is caused by the release of man-made greenhouse gases, primarily from burning fossil fuels.

Over our entire history there has never been such an environmental threat to humankind and the threat is very serious.

It falls to us who live on this planet at this time to address the issue and do something about it.  If we do not, then we are in grave danger of making the earth unsuitable for human habitation.  This is because there are a number of tipping points with the climate, beyond which there is no chance of recovery.

It now seems inevitable that the average temperature on earth will increase by at least 2 degrees Centigrade above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century.  The increase may be more than that and the timeframe may be shorter but in either case the consequences are serious. 

Climate scientists have been warning about this threat with increasing alarm for some time and political leaders have also accepted that something must be done.  However our international political institutions have failed to get agreement on how to proceed and we now face a very uncertain future.  Politics, by its nature, tends to make decisions relating to the short or medium term and is poor at making long-term decisions that may not be popular with constituents.

In the absence of political leadership it falls on each of us to recognise the threat posed and to tackle it at individual level so that a ‘bottom-up’ rather than a ‘top-down’ solution is found to global climate change.  We need to reduce our ‘carbon footprint’ (the amount of greenhouse gas we generate through our lifestyle) and we need to prepare for the inevitable consequence of the changes to the climate that are already in train. 

Ireland’s per capita emissions of greenhouse gases are high when compared to other European countries and are extremely high compared to developing countries such as China and India.  The worst effects of global warming will impact on the poorest of the world and so we have a moral responsibility (as well as self-interest) to address the issue head on.

The problem and the solutions cut across many aspects of our lives - from the type and location of our homes, our use of fossil fuels, the food we eat and where we go on holidays.  You can calculate your carbon footprint and get advice on how to reduce it on many different websites - for example at http://cmt.epa.ie/en/Calculator/ but the most important thing is to actually follow through and make the change.  Following the simple advice in our section on ‘Energy and the Home’ and ‘On the Move’ will allow you to play your part in tackling this unique environmental challenge.

The good news is that, if we can make the move away from fossil fuels and prevent runaway climate change, we will enjoy cleaner air, better biodiversity, a healthier planet and more green-collar jobs.