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Former president Mary Robinson said she was “heartened” by
the interest in climate change after more than 50 people had
to be turned away from a public lecture on the issue in University
College Cork last week.
The human rights activist, who now works on climate justice
issues, said that, in a time of economic crises, attention
focuses on our immediate problems. But she warned that we
ignore climate change at our peril.
“The whole continent of Africa is responsible for less than
4 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. If you think how little
the resource-poor countries have been contributing and yet
they are in the frontline of having to suffer. We have to
change our habits and lifestyle. It will be catastrophic if
we don’t take the right steps.”
At the lecture
organised by UCC’s Centre for Global Development, Mrs Robinson
explored the outcomes of the most recent UN climate change
conference, which took place in Durban, South Africa last
month. She said a new roadmap has been drawn up for seriously
addressing climate change and that we should all play our
part in putting pressure on the world’s leaders to take on
their responsibilities.
Mrs Robinson told the audience that when respected institutions
such as the OECD and the International Energy Agency warn
that failure to face up to the problems posed by climate change
could result in irreversible damage, “we must all give the
issue our fullest attention”.
Source - The Irish Times
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