Climate change: Ireland declares climate emergency
The Republic of Ireland has declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. A Fianna Fail amendment to the Oireachtas report on Climate Action was accepted without a vote. In May a national climate emergency was declared by the UK Parliament. In Scotland targets are being set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2045 . Dozens of local areas around the UK have also said there is a climate emergency. There is no single definition, but many areas say they want to be carbon-neutral by 2030. Fine Gael's Hildegarde Naughton, who is chair of the Climate Action Committee, welcomed the outcome as "an important statement" but added "now we need action." She said the Minister for Climate Action Richard Bruton would bring new proposals to the Dail (Irish parliament) and she looked forward to working "with all parties and none" to scrutinise them. Allow Twitter content? This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitters cookie policy , external and privacy policy , external before accepting. To view this content choose accept and continue . Green Party leader Eamon Ryan warned that "declaring an emergency means absolutely nothing unless there is action to back it up. "That means the Government having to do things they don't want to do," he added. The Fianna Fail amendment was moved by the party's climate action spokesman Timmy Dooley. However, when the vote came before the House, it was put forward by Deputy Ryan as there were only six TDs in the chamber and none of them were from Fianna Fail. The Green Party leader said: "We have declared a climate emergency in our own Irish way." Teenage activist Greta Thunberg tweeted that it was "great news" from Ireland. The issue of a biodiversity emergency is to be considered by a citizens' assembly. The Oireachtas Climate Action report come from a citizens' assembly report. Dozens of towns and cities across the UK have already declared "a climate emergency". There is no single definition of what that means but many local areas say they want to be carbon-neutral by 2030. Some councils have promised to introduce electric car hubs or build sustainable homes to try to achieve that goal. It's a much more ambitious target than the UK government's, which is to reduce carbon emissions by 80% (compared to 1990 levels) by 2050. Read more here UK is 'irresponsible' on climate, says Greta Climate emergency: Who you gonna call? What is a climate emergency? Morocco rescuers dig with bare hands as foreign aid sent US denies Cold War with China in historic Vietnam visit How Russia and West agreed on Ukraine G20 language How Russia and West agreed on Ukraine G20 language US denies Cold War with China in historic Vietnam visit 'Everyone in this village is either dead or missing' A Serbian scientist's long quest to name Srebrenica's dead How chronic pain feels for me. Video How chronic pain feels for me Guyana scrambles to make the most of oil wealth The spongy creatures cleaning Zanzibar's oceans. Video The spongy creatures cleaning Zanzibar's oceans Inside a 'hijacked' South African building. Video Inside a 'hijacked' South African building The rise and fall of a parenting influencer Florida's first hurricane-proof town The greatest spy novel ever written? Why is everyone crazy about Aperol? 2023 BBC.