Mallon calls for NI climate crisis summit

Q Radio News/PA

A Stormont minister has called for a Northern Ireland climate summit to discuss the global warming crisis.

The proposal from Infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon was discussed at Thursday’s Executive meeting.

Ms Mallon wants a summit convened ahead of the UN climate change conference – Cop26 – in Glasgow in October.

This week, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a report warning of a “code red for humanity”.

On Thursday, experts in the Republic issued a report on the state of Ireland’s climate.

The joint study by the Environmental Protection Agency, Met Eireann and the Marine Institute painted a stark picture of the impact of climate change in Ireland, warning that the country is becoming warmer and wetter, with extreme weather events more frequent.

Ms Mallon said she had received support from Executive colleagues for her proposal

“The climate crisis needs our immediate attention and urgent intervention,” she said.

“We cannot sit back and allow this dangerous drift to continue. A radical response is needed from all leaders across the globe to protect our planet and our people.

“This week the United Nations published its IPCC report which stark findings concluded the climate crisis is code red for humanity.

“While some work is being done, not enough is being done quickly enough. We need to act now. The SDLP isn’t sitting back, we are stepping up.

“SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood has a bill before Westminster pressing for radical action and robust targets to address the crisis.

“Today I proposed at the Executive to convene a climate summit ahead of Cop26. We need a plan and governments around the world need to step up and work together.

“Having received support for my proposal, I will be working to ensure all departments work together so we can use the climate summit to develop an action plan to deal with the immediate crisis.

“We as leaders need to support our society through this time of crisis and we need to make our voices heard at Cop26 on the global stage.”