Climate Change Climate Change represents the most serious threat to human life and the environment. If action is not taken on a global scale, global warming will continue to change weather patterns, cause sea levels to rise, threaten the future of entire nations and pose wider risks in terms of degradation of biodiversity, and the planet’s ability to provide adequate food and shelter for the human population. Ireland and the EU are signatories to the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international agreement to restrict global temperature rises to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and to limit any increase to 1.5°C to significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change. Ireland’s international commitments also extend to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 13, to ‘take action to combat climate change and its impacts.’ These commitments are enacted nationally by the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, 2015 which provides the statutory framework to pursue decarbonisation by 2050.and the Government’s Climate Action Plan 2019 to integrate effective climate action measures into national policies, backed by the Climate Action Fund. The Southern Regional Assembly (see Chapter 5) supports the implementation of the Government’s Climate Action Plan 2019, and the RSES has identified three priority areas for action to address climate
change and to bring about a Transition to a Low Carbon Economy and Society:
Decarbonisation;
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Resource Efficiency;
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Climate Resilience.
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All global risks of climate change are risks to the Southern Region. The Southern Regional Assembly is committed to plays its role to put in place a high-level regional strategy for transition to a low carbon economy and society across all sectors. The RSES prioritises action on climate change across all strategic areas and in all economic sectors. Achieving action on climate change will require a combined effort between all local authorities and their communities, government departments and state agencies to implement objectives for Compact Growth, Sustainable Travel and Placemaking to reduce the travel demand between residential areas and centres of employment and education. The targets for reduction of emissions across different sectors will be further developed, including key targets for 55% movement by sustainable transport modes. This will be supported by a robust implementation of time- bound and measurable objectives on climate action for the Southern Region.
Southern Regional Assembly | RSES
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