This weeks post was scheduled to be an outfit post but in light of the news of the divestment bill passing I can’t let it go without writing about it.
If you didn’t already know, one of, if not the greatest passions of mine is the environment. Ever since I was young I started to notice things that just didn’t seem right when it came to how people treated the environment, it started off with small things like I would wonder why people littered and left the tap running. In school science was my favourite subject and I began to learn about things like waste disposal, water treatment and energy resources. I was lucky in a sense because by fourth year I knew that I wanted to do what I could to improve environmental conditions and to influence others around me to do the same. Currently I am studying Environmental Science and I obviously intend on having a career in the same field.
I think that sometimes the term ‘environmentalist’ can be misconstrued as ‘tree hugger’ and this can be quite off putting to many, but it is quite evident that these two terms are definitely not equal. Everyone should be an environmentalist because the environment is everyone’s business. The environment we live in effects everything we do and sometimes it is hardly noticed and taken for granted because we have it so good. We only really notice how our environment effects our lives when the ever increasing storms and floods occur and we can’t do anything.
When the Paris Agreement was set out at COP 21 in December of 2015 I was extremely hopeful that Ireland would pull through and make it’s 2020 targets of green house gas emission reduction. Unfortunately at this moment in time it is looking unlikely that we will reach these goals. In all honesty, this situation is one that I care about deeply and so even to think about how far we are from our 2020 targets saddens me. However, now the divestment bill has passed.
The divestment bill passing is now a symbol of hope and change of what is to come in our country and throughout the world. Ireland will become the first country to divest public money from the fossil fuel industry. This means that money from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund will not be invested in fossil fuel companies.
Since Ireland has been ranked the second worst country in Europe for climate action, it is quite evident that there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done on our part. However, this bill passing shows what public support and public pressure can do. Make sure that you write to your local TD’s and representatives to make sure that your voice is heard because evidently, through the passing of this bill, it works. Now all we have to do is make sure that it passes through the upper house and becomes a law.
I would like to sincerely thank everyone that has been involved in ensuring that this bill was passed. Thank you to Thomas Pringle TD for ensuring that the public’s concerns were and continue to be addressed.
If you would like to read more on this topic here are a few links with more in-depth detail:
The Guardian – ‘Ireland becomes world’s first country to divest from fossil fuels’
The Journal – ‘Ireland to be the world’s first country to divest public money from fossil fuels’
RTÉ – ‘Ireland makes history becoming first country to divest from fossil fuels’
Let this success become the first of many for the benefit of all of our health and economies. Now that the ball is rolling it is important that we keep it moving and don’t get distracted by patting ourselves on the back for doing something right.
What are your thoughts on the passing of the divestment bill?
I hope you all have a great week.
Stay Beautiful,
Much love,
Laura x
littlemisslaur 