Former president Mary Robinson to make climate plea at Cork conference  

WORLD leaders will need to show greater ambition in phasing out the use fossil fuels at COP28 if there is any hope in limiting global warming increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius, Mary Robinson will warn today.

The former President of Ireland will call for greater ambition on climate action during a major climate conference at University College Cork.

Mrs Robinson is the keynote guest at the Sustainable Futures Forum, which will take place today in UCC’s Glucksman Gallery, and will be MCed by RTÉ presenter Miriam O’Callaghan.

Speaking ahead of her appearance, Mrs Robinson said: "At COP28, we need to drive greater ambition on climate action among world leaders and governments.

“This is extremely important in order to keep 1.5 alive - for this, we need to phase out fossil fuels and scale up clean energy.

“It is extremely important to put people first and create outcomes that are fair for those who are on the front lines of climate impacts," said Mrs Robinson.

“We need to prioritise climate justice and unlock finance in order to ensure a sustainable, just and equitable future that does not leave anyone behind.”  

Experts from the World Bank and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will convene in UCC for the event, which will also highlight the voices of activists across the world including farmer and journalist Hannah Quinn-Mulligan, who will moderate a discussion on rural and urban sustainability.

Other topics will include the role of technology and innovation within industry, ensuring climate justice, and media's role on the subject of climate.

Dr Marguerite Nyhan, chair of the Sustainable Futures Forum said: “Ahead of COP28, we look forward to welcoming Mrs Robinson to UCC to discuss the important issues of climate justice, loss and damage, and how to achieve a fair and just future for all.” 

She added that limiting long-term global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius was agreed by almost 200 countries as part of the Paris Accord, saying: “We know from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that this target is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

“However, the United Nations Environment Programme in their latest “emissions gap” report, has warned that we are on track for a 2.5 to 2.9 degrees Celsius world.” 

The forum comes as one of Ireland’s leading energy experts, Professor Brian Ó Gallachóir warned: “Ireland is not on track to meet our statutory carbon budget target for the period 2021-2025.” 

Mr Ó Gallachóir, director of UCC’s Environmental Research Institute added: “We have collectively the necessary knowledge, financial resources and technologies - unfortunately however, we haven’t managed to muster the necessary levels of political will, or build sufficient societal capacity to achieve the goals we have agreed on."

The Sustainable Futures Forum can be watched online from 9am today with Mary Robinson due to speak at 12pm, more information is available at  www.ucc.ie/en/sustainable-futures-forum.