Becoming an early mover on Climate Action will build a bright future for all – Bruton

The climate crisis cannot be fixed without significantly disrupting the habits of every one of us, Fine Gael Parliamentary Party Chairman Richard Bruton has said.

“I welcome the Climate Action Plan published today. The way we use the assets which support our daily lives must change — the way we use our land, our buildings, our vehicles, our plants and machinery,” Deputy Bruton said.

“If no one acts, and if activities which emit polluting gases do not become more expensive in recognition of the damage they are doing, then it is future generations who will pay.

“The media must call out the cynicism of those who pretend that the crisis can be confronted without impacting their constituents, or who pretend that fairness demands that the crisis is fixed by big oil or big business, while the rest of us get fully compensated for every change we are asked to make.

“If they say there is another way, then they must demonstrate that their way will ensure Ireland, one of the biggest emitters in the world, makes a fair contribution to protecting the lives and livelihoods of future generations.

“We can build a bright future, particularly bright for a rural Ireland which becomes an early mover. But this bright future can only be built upon the infrastructures and practices of the future, not of the past. Ní neart go cur le chéile,” Deputy Bruton concluded.