Ireland and the Climate Crisis by David Robbins Diarmuid Torney Pat Brereton (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Ireland and the Climate Crisis ed. by David Robbins, Diarmuid Torney, Pat Brereton Dr Ciara Murphy (bio) David Robbins, Diarmuid Torney, Pat Brereton (eds.), Ireland and the Climate Crisis (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), 336 pages. We, as a global society, have known for decades that climate change is a problem. The scientific knowledge about the causes and solutions have crystalized over the years to the point where there is no doubt that the climate is changing and human activities are the main cause. Like much of the world, Ireland has failed to respond and act upon this knowledge, with former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar stating in December 2018, ‘Obviously, climate emissions and greenhouse gas areas is an area where we’re laggard and falling way behind’.1 Acknowledging all of this, the main question that remains is why have we been so slow to act on this knowledge? Focusing specifically on the Irish context this book, Ireland and the Climate Crisis, aims to answer this question. Edited by David Robbins, Diarmuid Torney, and Pat Brereton (all from the School of Communications and the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University), this book is the result of a collaboration from across the climate change sphere in Ireland. Over the space of sixteen chapters and through the contributions of nineteen additional authors, this book brings together numerous different threads weaving them into a tapestry representing a comprehensive picture of climate change in Ireland. Climate change is not purely about the science. It has deep environmental, social and cultural connotations which shape how and why we respond, or indeed, fail to respond. This book reflects this reality and focuses not only on the ‘hard science’ of climate change and how it will manifest itself here but concentrates on the often neglected ‘soft science’ research which examines the social and political realities which has brought us to this point, as well highlighting the opportunities for, and barriers to, climate action in Ireland. The book is organized into four main sections. The first section details the most up-to-date scientific knowledge on the impacts of climate change in Ireland and a history of Ireland’s policy response. This gives the context and sets the stage for the more detailed examination of the circumstances and processes leading to the current situation, considered in subsequent sections. Section two investigates the role of politics and the law more closely while section three investigates the aspects of our society, including our economy, that influence climate actions. In this section, the role of communication and media in shaping a society’s perception of climate action are also brought [End Page 130] to the fore. The final section looks in detail at how we can engage with the climate movement and act collectively to mitigate the crisis. The construction of the book can be seen as an attempted ‘integral ecology’ approach, refusing to reduce the problem or the solution to one single track. It also highlights the interdependencies and interconnections between the different aspects and climate action pathways. The frequent cross referencing between the chapters and common themes that are observed throughout the book, such as the influence of agriculture on the climate change story in Ireland, makes it obvious to the reader that the subject matter that is dealt with in the individual chapters cannot be examined in isolation. A striking example of this can be observed in section two, which opens with an examination by Sadhbh O’Neill and Edwin Alblas of the strengths and weaknesses of using litigation as a tool to ‘force’ the government to comply with its own commitments (p. 57). Implicit in the effectiveness of this tool is the strength of the legislation which underpins it, both at national and EU level (p. 73), which mirrors the ambition of the politicians and legislators responsible for drawing up these laws (p. 91). Alongside the policy gains and legislative change that might arise, the Climate Case also functioned as a focal point for the climate movement, which both supported the proceedings and were mobilized by this novel form of climate action. Additionally, the ambition of the politicians and consequently the strength of the...