Eamon Ryan: Here’s something you don’t often see - an optimistic column on the climate crisis

It is all too easy to succumb to despair as warnings from climate scientists become ever more stark and while governments are increasingly unwilling to act. Some are even reversing what they previously agreed to do. There were two further reversals in Ireland last week: public transport fares were increased and hints were given about a further deferral of carbon taxes in the upcoming budget. It is as if politics everywhere has taken on a more reactionary course, as governments ditch climate commitments if they think it might stop voters going to more populist extremes. Political science trumps climate science at every turn. Environmental writer George Monbiot argues there is still hope. He believes we can stop climate change if we reach a certain social tipping point, where people demand and deliver change in their local area, regardless of what their politicians say or do. READ MOREI still think we will need both top-down government decision-making and a bottom-up community effort – but in the absence of political leadership in the centre, then local action is where we have to begin. Such a bottom-up approach is needed to get the design details right for new local infrastructure and to help speed up its delivery. It might also raise public support for action, which is the political capital that matters most to politicians in the end. A movement to help deliver this approach will need people coming together in person, rather than online campaigns. Real-life encounters will become more valuable as artificial intelligence-generated content, pushed by social media algorithms, erodes trust. Face to face meetings generate their own positive energy.Thankfully, there are some signs of such green shoots starting to emerge across Ireland as in other countries. On Tuesday and Wednesday next week, up to 500 people will attend a Climate Carnival at Ballintubbert House, Co Laois. It is billed as like a mini-Electric Picnic, only focused on climate change. It is the second year in operation and the theme this year will be around breaking out of individual silos and embracing systems-thinking instead, matching the interconnected nature of our world. The carnival is run by the Climate Cocktail Club, which was started in 2018. Tom Popple, one of the founders, says the aim was to get the climate debate away from what he describes as an “invitation-only, miserable grey conference room space”.The cocktail name doesn’t just refer to the drinks – but also the mix of people. Popple says these events attract a generation who do not need to be told what to do, but who want to do things themselves. In a similar vein, Climate Finance Week Ireland starts in Dublin next Monday. For the ninth year running, it will bring leading people in sustainable finance together to consider how the industry can help make the transition happen. We are seeing a tipping point, in which global investment in a new renewable and efficient electricity system is now twice what is spent on the fossil fuel alternative. Ireland could play an important role in this shift, as evidenced by the establishment of the United Nations Development Programme Sustainable Finance Hub here, which will be one of the focuses of the week. A climate gathering will also be taking place on the island of Inishbofin, Co Galway, next week. Sixty people with backgrounds in climate science, the arts, spirituality, campaigning and government will come together to consider what new narratives might raise our collective will for action. The Gathering will be held in a “fifth province” format, inspired by the philosopher John Moriarty, who depicted an ancient Irish tradition of using such a safe meeting place to resolve differences. Everyone comes as an equal, every view is respected and the use of creativity and a connection to nature adds to the dialogue process. Again the gathering is designed to have a broad mix of participants. If a grassroots approach to climate change is going to work then it has to involve most of our people. We need a climate story that connects to science and to the humanities, belongs to both conservative and progressive political traditions and delivers for both the global north and south by bringing benefits home for every community. Such stories will matter more than any new cost-benefit analysis or scientific report about what is happening in our atmosphere. We need our hearts and souls engaged in the issue and not just our heads. Once that happens the positive tipping points will follow.