Environmentalists as well as political, business and farm leaders in the north west say everyone must work together in the effort to halt what will be the catastrophe of climate change — and that the time to do so is running out.
It’s after a stark United Nations Intergovernmental Panel report stating emphatically that climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying — and that we, humans, are to blame.
This UN report says human activity has led to climate change — and that the time for action is now.
Former Green Party election candidate in Sligo/Leitrim Blaithin Gallagher says action must start locally.
She sees county councils having a central role to play, particularly as they are now working on their next county development plans.
While much focus in the climate change debate has been on farmers, Kathleen Henry, chairperson of the Irish Farmers Association in Sligo, says farmers must be seen as part of the solution rather than as part of the problem.
She says farmers are sometimes being unfairly blamed.
