Why are TDs pushing fossil fuels?

It is an inescapable fact that we are in the middle of a Climate Emergency.

The world we know is already faltering amidst our excess consumption and emissions, and within our lifetimes we are likely to see a mass extinction event brought about by human activity.

For now, mercifully, that is an avoidable outcome – but only if we act fast. And only if our politicians treat the Climate Crisis as an emergency, and not as a flippant PR stunt that is designed to win votes through words rather than actions.

Ireland has failed

Let’s be honest: Ireland has pretty much failed to meet every major standard it has set for itself in terms of lowering emissions, increasing biodiversity and living up to its position as only the second nation worldwide to declare a Climate Emergency.

This is already all too apparent, but became inescapable over the weekend when Limerick TD Patrick O’Donovan – who is also Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform – ignorantly tweeted that Ireland needs an liquid natural gas (LNG) plant to meet demand for energy on colder nights.

It is also alarming when any TD elects to promote fossil fuel usage given that they are elected by their constituents to act in their best interests – and Ireland is already seen as a laggard both on Climate Action, and on investment in renewable energy.

Mr O’Donovan’s complaints about the apparent lack of wind energy generation ignored the fact that decades of underfunding wind energy has left us with a shortfall compared to other nations.

Had his party and his Government invested properly, we would not only have more wind (and solar) capacity, but we would also have better means of storing energy for when it is needed most. We would also be benefitting from lower energy costs and greater energy security – but neither he nor his party have done anything to address either concern which has led to both the current energy crisis and cost-of-living crisis.

Not to mention that he is in a prime position to limit how big businesses place unnecessary strain on the grid. Yet his own party, Fine Gael, are doing nothing to limit the influx and expansion of data centres in Ireland – something that would have a major impact on Ireland’s energy security.

He knows that this will not lower bills. He knows it is cheaper to install, produce and maintain renewable energy – but he elected to ignore all of these facts.

TDs empower trolls

It is not only the fact that he is promoting fossil fuels that is worrying in this context.

Mr O’Donovan is a publicly elected official who wields power and influence. And he chose to use his Twitter account with over 7,800 Followers to promote misinformation that is damaging to Climate Action.

This misinformation not only gives a false impression to his Followers through cherry-picked data and a complete disregard for the Climate Crisis, but it encourages anti-science fabrications to flourish as a critical time when genuine action is urgently needed.

Sure, he is not the only TD promoting such anti-science misinformation, but each and every public official that does so has a major impact on delaying wider education and action.

people to think that their self-created lies are true, and to double-down on promoting misinformation.

We have seen the self-same thing with racism in Ireland.

Prominent public figures use their platform to perpetuate myths, which in turn stoke the fires of difference and hatred. The consequences of this are all too apparent, with #IrelandIsFull regularly trending on Twitter as a result of emboldened racists, and the recent protests against asylum seekers being housed in Dublin.

Mr O’Donovan knows the power he wields. He knows that he has been called out for spreading misinformation in the face of the Climate Crisis before, but he chooses to do so anyway – despite what it will mean.

And the consequences couldn’t be clearer: large swathes of his constituents, their property and livelihoods below the tideline in the coming decades, billions displaced in the same timeline and one third of all life on Earth extinct by 2070.

Not to mention the 1,300 premature and avoidable deaths that occur in Ireland every year due to air pollution from the burning of soild fuels.

We contacted Mr O’Donovan’s office for comment – specifically asking whether he had read the IPCC’s latest Summary for Policymakers and, if he had, how he could justify his comments in the context of the report’s urgent call not only to stop new fossil fuel use and exploration, but to curb existing fossil fuel usage.

At the time of publication he has not responded to our request for comment.

Like all politicians he clearly feels he is above the consequences of his actions. And, you know what, he’s right – unless we choose to vote these people out of office.

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