With global temperatures reaching record highs how can the world tackle climate change?
The flooding and disruption that accompanied this week's storms all over Europe could be an indicator of future extreme weather events.
Politicians and experts are attending a two-week summit in the Hague to look at ways of tackling climate change.
There is increasing evidence linking greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and changes in climate. One culprit is carbon dioxide, released when fossil fuels such as gas, oil or coal are burned. This causes damage as it
Traps the sun’s heat, making the atmosphere hotter and more violent.
Scientists have examined ice cores drilled from the Greenland ice sheet and established that the amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere has grown steadily since the Industrial Revolution, with an accompanying rise in Earth’s temperatures.
The Irish Energy Centre is the agency responsible for implementing the government’s policy on sustainable energy, and subsequently lower Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions.
One way is to insulate buildings properly, which means that construction industry regulations need to be improved. According to David Taylor, Director of the Irish Energy Centre, in the next ten years there will be
Up to half a million new homes in Ireland.
Investing in better public transport, more efficient cars and expansion in renewable energy networks will also reduce Ireland’s output of carbon dioxide.
One of the biggest culprits when it comes to Ireland’s negative environmental impacts is our agriculture. Almost twenty five per cent of our greenhouse gas emissions come from
Methane produced by cattle and sheep.
An RTE News report broadcast on 13 November 2000. The reporter is Walt Kilroy.
