Climate survey responses august 2017 tod

The following is a report on a non scientific survey that I carried out over 3 days at the end
of July 2017. A total of 93 people answered most of the pretty intense questions.
Participants in the survey were sought by email and using social media namely Facebook
and Twitter. 82 responses were received through social media and 11 were via the link
emailed to colleagues at An Taisces Climate Committee, Feasta - Foundation for the
Economic of Sustainability and TINI - Transition Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The 11 email responses are definitely from people passionate about climate change and
involved in environmental NGOs. Of the social media responses a good portion of these
are probably like minded individuals as they were most likely friends/followers or friends of
friends. This would be a mix of artists, activists and neither. People who value the
environment, social justice issues, democracy and equality as well as family and friends
who aren’t too interested but completed the survey anyway.
I am a systems analyst and qualified mediator. I have been personally analysing social
systems and their reactions to climate change for approximately 10 years while working on
climate action and policy at community, regional and national level. I have set out a brief
biography in a separate document which lists ,y experience ranging from Tidy Towns to the
national Environmental Pillar. Understanding society is vital when developing awareness
programmes and events. It is just as important when writing submissions or interacting at
decisions and policy making level. Knowing your audience is key and tailoring your
material to suit is essential if you are to be successful.
The questions were designed to get people thinking about the bigger picture and assess
how others perceive the role of the various social systems with a view to common ground
and how we might succeed in making Ireland a leader at tackling climate change.
The various social systems I identified for the research were the following;
• Political system - elected representatives, councillors etc.
• Administrative system - state agencies, councils, civil service etc
• Economic system - industry, employers, business etc
• Religious system - churches, clerics etc
• Sporting system - GAA, FAI etc
• Media - printed, online, radio etc
• Community system - street, estate, town, village etc
• Home - how about you & yours
The questions I asked were as follows:
1. How knowledgable are the following (the various social systems) about climate
change today? Consider the collective - not one or two people.
2. How capable are the following of tackling climate change today? Consider the
collective - not one or two people.
3. How important are the following in tackling climate change?
4. What could each of these do to tackle climate change?
5. What, if anything, is stoping them from taking action to tackle climate change?
6. Could we collaborate and work together within the country to enable Ireland become
a leader in tackling climate change? If "Yes" - How?
Here is a link to the survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/D8Z8LM8 and the report
follows including all of the very insightful responses.  
Education/Awareness Leadership Collaboration 1

Theresa O’Donohoe
August 2017 
Content Page
Summary of the responses to each question 3
Q1
How knowledgable are the following about climate change today?
Consider the collective - not one or two people.
10
Q2
How capable are the following of tackling climate change today?
12
Q3 How important are the following in tackling climate change? 14
Q4 What could each of these do to tackle climate change? 16
Q5
What, if anything, is stoping them from taking action to tackle
climate change?
34
Q6
Could we collaborate and work together within the country to enable
Ireland become a leader in tackling climate change? If "Yes" - How?
50

Here is a summary of responses. The full content of the replies is included further along in
this report.
Question 1: How knowledgable are the following about climate change today?
The choices with this question were split to knowledge and action with the last two
choices indicating awareness of climate change is high and action is being taken. 80% of
respondents indicated that they are informed and taking action. 98% identify the political
system as pretty passive by not wanting to know, may have heard or as being updated.
The administrative system was judged similarly. Further information with the graph on
page 10.

It’s apparent that there’s a belief within this predominantly climate aware audience that
awareness is not very good with “might have heard of it” being dominant in 5 of the 8
social systems. These results may also indicate that many people already acting on
climate change could feel isolated.

My personal experience has been one of support and collaboration within climate aware
circles. In contrast I have experienced isolation and rejection while navigating the public
sector, generally at local authority level. Communities vary. If my work with them is by
invite I am of course welcome however I have come across climate deniers and some
hostile people including during work in my own community. This generally demonstrates to
me a lack of real understanding of the challenges climate change poses. I also see an
unwillingness by the administration to work with change makers.  

Question 2: How capable are the following of tackling climate change today?
Again the options were split with a high level of capability being the attributes of the last
two social systems, community and home. 68% of respondents believe themselves
capable of tackling climate change while believing only 23% of the administration and 16%
of politicians are somewhat capable.
This graph also indicates that people taking action may feel isolated and unsupported.
My personal experience with the administration and political systems is varied. I have
liaised with extremely capable people within the administration and the political sphere
while working on the national energy policy white paper. I have also come up against
people completely oblivious and unwilling to learn, many carrying the type of attitude that
resulted in my leaving the civil service. However I have also come across a system that is
completely under resourced and despite a willingness amongst the staff they do not have
what they need to fulﬁl their duties. Then there are others who will bend their role to
incorporate climate action almost as it if were illegal.
One need only mention Healy Rae to recognise ignorance within the political system. All of
this demonstrates a lack of understanding of the challenges we face as the climate
changes and a need for much greater awareness raising.  

Question 3: How important are the following in tackling climate change?
Despite all of the uncertainty, isolation, fear, anxiety and perceived lack of belief in the
systems of governance to tackle climate change, participants overwhelmingly deemed
both political and administration systems important, very important or essential to success.
Contrary to my belief that engaging sporting organisations and the religious sector to be
more involved in the climate dialogue they are not believed to be essential.
The overwhelming belief seems to be that everybody has a big part to play in Ireland
tackling climate change. This indicates to me that this is deﬁnitely a collaborative challenge
and we must dig deep to ﬁnd ways to working together.
My personal experience is that civil servants would rather work with formal groupings. It is
no secret and they have said as much. This exclusion became obvious when I wrote two
submissions to national policy a couple of years ago. One for the Environmental Pillar and
one for the Peoples Energy Charter. Both sought to collaborate more with civil servants
and state agencies offering insight into community engagement. I received the usual email
acknowledging each submission, followed a couple of weeks later by an invitation for the
Environmental Pillar to join a stakeholder group. There was no such invitation issued to the
PEC.
I believe the administration needs to get over it’s fear of people.

Question 4: What could each of these do to tackle climate change?
There are sets of answers for all 8 systems. Political, Administrative, Economic, Religious,
Sporting, Media, Community and Home. They are all listed from pages 14 to 31.
Political
There are lots of suggestions, some specific but here’s a general overview. Appreciate the
urgency and act appropriately. Legislate and implement effective policies - they have the
power, our power. Be brave enough for the scale of the change that’s needed. Show
leadership. Commit to long term visioning. Become informed and talk about it. Consult
the people. Educate and Raise Awareness. Divest from fossil fuel and stop supporting
destructive industries. Prioritise environmental protection across the government
departments and all governance. Implement polluter pays policies. Prioritise an economy
that protects the environment. Support solutions and reward change makers. Stop
worrying about re-election - climate is much more important and unfortunately it is
not a popular political agenda item.
There are practical proposals about targets, taxes, energy, divestment, transport and
agriculture etc. There are also indications that politicians can’t be trusted and/or are too
friendly with industry. It’s clear participants want the politicians to be strong and lead on
climate action including with legislation. They also want long term planning and see the 5
year cycle as detrimental to climate action.
My personal experience agrees with this except for education in relation to our young
people. They get plenty of education in all of this. Having watched 2 of my own go through
the green schools programme, college and now teachers I see how follow through is
important. If we are lucky 10% of the first 21 years of our lives is in formal education. If
protecting the environment is not on the agenda for the other 90% of those 21 years the
impact isn’t very high. In fact I believe that the lack of action probably depresses the
young people who have been educated to see how destructive we are and then go
on to be powerless because society is not changing.
Administrative
The suggestions here were pretty similar to those for the political system. Some specifics
were the education of staff, more accountability and advise politicians of the facts.
Having been a civil servant for 7 years I do have some insight here. Be open to change
and working with others to tackle climate change (and everything else!). There is no “us”
and “them”. Do not take criticism of the system personally - work with it as valuable
critique. We are all in this together and the fear of collaboration is stifling progress.
Including people in the decisions and plans that affect them is vital so public participation
is paramount in tackling climate change.
It is as though the system does not actually realise the scale of the problem and is not
working effectively and efficiently to address it. Critics will say that’s across the board with
housing, poverty, education etc. However science will say they don’t matter if climate
change is ignored.
Economic
The growing economy has contributed to the problem and must be part of the solution.
Comments here varied. An economy is vital however the growing neoliberal agenda is
completely destructive. Some companies do lead the way in their actions and others need

to follow. They can also play a part in leading the rest of the country. Incentivise
environmentally sound practice.
Religious
The overwhelming suggestion about the role religion could play is awareness raising.
Leadership and support were also proposed. Essentially mobilising their congregations to
act. The Popes encyclical was referenced in the context of querying what’s changed since.
Sporting
The responses were similar to religion withe the addition of a few practical proposals for
facilities maintenance and investment.
Media
The media has a big role to play in everything these days. Awareness raising was the most
popular proposal for them. However their attention to facts and ﬁgures was criticised and
calls for more fact based reporting to include the effects and threats .
Community
These answers are very telling. A great insight into how people are feeling within their
community in relation to climate change. There are lots of practical suggestions to mitigate
and adapt to climate change. Again awareness, education, leadership and collaboration
are strong themes. Climate action is everybody's responsibility.
My experience at community level action has been dependent upon the host community.
Without government leadership encouraging climate action community leaders are at the
mercy of the awareness within the community. Where there are a few like minded people
they gain allies and possibly momentum. Where there is apathy nothing they can become
isolated.
Another dynamic is the local authority. I have worked with communities with great ideas
and project proposals only to be blocked by their local authority who claimed action on
climate change was not a priority.
Home
Again a great mix of practical solutions and what people are and can do at home. There is
also insight into the limitations to individuals actions due to a lack of choice such as
packaging and pricing.
My personal experience is vast in this. I was a mother in a south Dublin middle class,
family of 4, 2 holidays a year shopaholic until 15 years ago. Now I am a single parent with
3 dependents in rural Ireland existing on job seekers allowance. I have experienced the
limitations of the SEAI homeowner grants. I cannot afford an electric car yet I know that if I
had one it would encourage others. Growing food is time consuming hard work that would
take me away from my voluntary work of representing the environment. Once the
government get real then I may be able to step back and grow food. There are deﬁnite
limits as a home owner and *subsidies that currently prop up environmental destruction
would go a long way in supporting people leading the way.
*In Ireland, fossil fuel subsidies are estimated to be €386 million annually. Taken from the
EPA report https://www.epa.ie/media/Chapter11_Environment_Energy.pdf which is part of
their report “Ireland's Environment 2016 - An Assessment” which is available in it’s entirety
here http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/indicators/irelandsenvironment2016.html

Question 5: What, if anything, is stoping them from taking action to tackle climate
change?
Again there are sets of answers for all 8 systems. Political, Administrative, Economic,
Religious, Sporting, Media, Community and Home. They are all listed from pages 32 to 47.
Political
There is an overwhelming perception that re-election is why politicians are not calling for
climate action. This indicates that they really haven’t got the enormity of the situation or
they are so selfish that they don’t care. It also indicates that a national, non political
campaign is required to ensure climate is on the electorates agenda. As is the case in
*Denmark where an oversight body has been set up to be blamed for all the unpopular
policies and then disappear when they were in place.
*The Danish Council on Climate Change is an independent body of experts that advises
on how the transition to a low-carbon society can be done in a cost effective manner so
that in the future we can live in a Denmark of very low greenhouse gas emissions while
maintaining welfare and development. They take all the blame! More here http://
www.klimaradet.dk/en
Links to industry, lobbying and vested interests are also suggested as a reason politicians
may be reluctant to tackle climate change.
My experience with this leads me to agree completely. I spent a year at back door policy
events where industry and decision makers networked without public participants.
A national awareness campaign with politicians “powerless” to ignore the need for
change is required. Led by a non political entity to blame. This just demonstrates the
insanity of our political system but we do not have time to change the system and address
climate change. I have found we need to work with the system that exists, dysfunctional as
it is.
Administrative
Lack of leadership or support and lack of knowledge were dominant responses. There was
a “ministerial steer” when Alex White directed his department during the white paper
process. This led to a much more inclusive process and policy. Of course he was not re-
elected and many of the civil servants working with him have moved on.
My experience as a civil servant really helped my understanding of this system. There is a
culture of protecting the system and lack of creativity within. This contributes to a position
of not thinking outside the box. It also stifles collaboration with non civil servants. It’s just
protectionism.
Economic
Effectively the neoliberal agenda and growth at all costs. Profits over planet and people.
Religious
Lack of awareness and understanding were dominant. A lack of motivation or leadership
was also suggested.
Sporting
Similar responses as those for the religious systems. They seem oblivious and too caught
up on their own system to be bothered.

Media
Reasons for media inaction ranged from corporate inﬂuences to ignorance on the issue to
lack of leadership and audience interest.
Community
Again awareness and education were dominant. A lack of leadership and community
acceptance of change. Lack of support and resources also top the replies. Fear of
exclusion is also mentioned.
My personal experience is a lack of support and ﬁnancial assistance. I have spent
thousands of my own money and hours over the years to encourage community action on
climate change.
Home
There are some examples of barriers but lack of support, money and leadership dominate.
The system within we live is not facilitating peoples efforts to change.
Could we collaborate and work together within the country to enable Ireland
become a leader in tackling climate change? If "Yes" - How?
There are 84 suggestions in response to this question. They begin on page 48. I suggest
reading them all.
The most hopeful learning is that despite a predominantly negative view of them,
participants overwhelmingly deemed both political and administration systems as
important, very important or essential to success in tackling climate change. This is very
useful insight as it means there should be a willingness on the part of people to engage
with government resourced collaboration. So long as it is handled well and the complete
opposite of the wind projects or Eirgrid disasters of the midlands.
My thoughts. We lack strong leadership, practical actions relative to the challenge, joined
up long term thinking, awareness and serious, consistent commitment to climate action.
Awareness raising is paramount to all of these. Therefore to make Ireland a leader in
tackling climate change we must inform, empower and engage society in shared visions
and commitment to change lifestyles whilst implementing solutions. We need everyone
collaborating and we need leaders brave enough to prioritise climate action.
There is plenty to read within the responses with much to be said about the current
systems. Some common threads; Raise awareness and educate, practice leadership
and collaborate on action. A vital point is that A national awareness campaign with
politicians “powerless” to ignore the need for change is required.

Question 1: How knowledgable are the following about climate
The options with this question were split to knowledge and action with the last two
options indicating action is being taken. 80% of respondents indicated that they are
informed and taking action but 98% identify the political system as pretty passive by not
wanting to know, may have heard or as being updated. The administrative system was
similar.

It’s apparent that there’s a belief that awareness is not very good with “might have heard
of it” being dominant in 5 of the 8 “systems”.

Doesn’t want to know Reads updates and takes action
Might have heard of it Is well informed, acting and
sharing
Is sent updates regularly

Here’s a further break down.

 

Question 2: How capable are the following of tackling climate
Again the options were split with a decent level of capability being the attributes of the last
two choices. 68% of respondents believe themselves capable of tackling climate change
while believing only 23% of the administration and 16% of politicians are somewhat
capable.
Having a lot to learn was the top opinion for 7 or the 8 “systems”.
Completely Incapable Capable
Incapable More than capable
Has a lot to learn

Here’s a further break down. 

Question 3: How important are the following in tackling climate
change?
This is an extremely telling graph. Despite all of the uncertainty, isolation, fear, anxiety and
perceived lack of belief in the systems of governance to tackle climate change, participants
overwhelmingly deemed both political and administration important, very important or
essential to success. It was similar across the board indicating that this is deﬁnitely a
collaborative challenge.
Insigniﬁcant - we can do it
without them
Important - we need them to
act
Might help if they did
something
Very important - we need their
help
Essential - it won’t happen
without them

Here’s a further break down.

 

Question 4: What could each of these do to tackle climate change?
Political system - elected representatives, councillors , etc.
• Effective policies
• Reduce emissions, support public transport, decentralised green energy
• Set binding climate targets, stop supporting climate damaging industries e.g. fossil fuel
and agriculture
• They could educate, pass policies that address and reduce contributors to climate
change, put money into green energy
• Understand the urgency, recognise actions necessary, show leadership
• Act now
• Put climate before their own desires
• Carbon tax. Promote renewable energy.
• Change bad practices and not to be afraid of change
• Impose benefits for being more Eco friendly climate change aware and serious fining
bad practices
• Drive electric cars; get educated on cc
• Radical shift away from their neoliberal agenda and propping up the failing capitalist
system towards representative democracy that actually represents the people
• Take the threat as serious as an epidemic
• Leadership; provide the process to develop the framework and overall strategy
• Keep a green agenda to the forefront
• More information to the people
• At least acknowledge and begin to consider taking action
• Prioritise environment over economy
• Act interested
• Regulate industry effectively. Adopt environmentally sound legislation. Operate all
state services in an environmentally sound way. Divest from fossil fuels entirely.
Pursue a policy of food sovereignty rather than export focused farming.
• Implement directives
• Inform themselves better
• Prioritising, correcting market failures, investing in research/technologies
• Push for stronger targets and radical commitments to change. Rethink economic
system, food sovereignty, production and distribution. Radically revisit education
system.
• Follow the example of Wales and Sweden
• Consult, legislate, enforce and incentivise
• Take action that makes a difference , stop seeking exemptions and delays
• Introduce new economic system
• Address the matter seriously. Online training and awareness development
programmes.
• Wake up, get real, read agreements before signing them
• Take long term, global responsibility seriously
• implement changes
• Force industry/society to become more Eco friendly by bringing in laws and strict
regulations /enforcement even if unpopular.
• Listen & be held personally responsible for failure
• Speak about it honestly, ensure all policies and programmes are climate proofed
• Advocate, make directive decisions
• Put laws into action
• Support the move to clean air, tax polluters. Protect people before profit.

• Legislate for change
• Plant trees, clean energy solutions
• Our politicians are by and large, a reflection of us as society, so it very hard for them to
be leaders. By and large we don't elect leaders, we elect followers.
• Put Climate change as the foundation of all political decisions . Environment and
people over profits and companies
• Better regulation, legislation a commitment to 'green proof' economic and social
development plans; better education programmes; create better systems of
accountability particularly around economic activities, urban development and planning
• Introduce schemes and programmes to make it financially more viable to change the
way country is run. Introduction of grants and legislation to change the way we live.
• Realise that climate change is fundamental to ALL future possibilities. If they
ignore this they will not survive. We will not survive.
• Legislate, carbon tax
• Be better informed and take action
• Long term planning
• Keep fossil fuel in the ground. Invest in public transport and 20% cycling. Community
energy grants, solar panels on every rooftop. Community renewable energy back into
grid. Produce food locally and sustainably. Tax on carbon footprint, no or less vat on
renewables. More towards zero waste. Phase out of all plastic non-recyclable
packaging and more towards reusable no packaging.
• Help with grid connection, support incentives schemes, help communities understand
the importance of renewable energies
• introduce a proper carbon budget. prioritise emissions reduction over everything else
• Make using solar, wind turbine and electric cars more affordable. Stop using chemicals
and GMO's
• Enact policy, fund research, achieve target, incentivise action
• Clear public action and vision
• Accept their responsibility. Amend and make new laws. Take on board whats been
done in other countries who are making a real effort to tackle climate change. Start by
unraveling all the red tape.
• Stop giving licences to companies that destroy the environment
• Legislate to meet Paris targets
• Introduce supporting policy, raise carbon tax
• Be proactive in reducing carbon emissions and incentivising ecological initiatives
• Stop waffling and do something constructive.
• Take decisions now
• Legislate. Consult with scientists ,NGOsNGOs
• Take action. Help us at home. Make it easier, public transport, cheaper alternative
power, electric cars.
• Educate and act
• Take the issue seriously. Invest in local agriculture, flood mitigation, sustainable water
management on a national/cross border basis. Stop listening to paid lobbyists over
science and unpaid activists.
• Stop sitting on the fence , make it doable for ordinary people's actions to have an
impact .
• Bring it up publicly
• Take it seriously. Make a commitment. Recognise that it is an existential threat to all life
on earth. Stand up and be counted. Educate electorate. Promote and support strong
effective action. Ensure everything they do takes account of climate change. Ensure all
new build is zero emissions. Support communities to set up community energy
schemes. Retrofit homes.

• Pass meaningful Acts, ask questions of govt.
• Firstly acknowledge it.
• Lead by committing to year by year emission reduction pathways
• Get informed, act on the evidence!
• Forego fear of loosing votes. Stop preaching, pushing & selling the opinions of anti
groups to only seek their votes at election.
• Implement legislation to help in transition to low carbon economy
• Understand what is needed - facilitate responses - enable action
• Wake up
• Public opinion/demand
• Prepare concrete plans to reduce emissions significantly across all sectors of the
economy.
• move away from big business interests and start implementing real measures for
climate change even if there is not as much money in them
• Become aware and share the information
• legislation-on fossil fuels, public transport, building regulations, pollution etc
• Tax carbon, support community energy & funding
Administrative system - state agencies, councils, civil service etc
• Put policy in action
• Take local emission reduction action. show the green way
• Educate themselves, push the politicians to act and encourage/force the public
to change their behaviour
• Educate, operate on environmentally sound practices (gardening, waste reduction,
green energy).
• Establish climate change action plans in all areas
• Act now
• Collectively acknowledge the need to affect change
• Stop blocking progress.
• Follow through
bad practices
• Operate more efficiently, less waste, lead by example, plant trees
• Radical shift away from their neoliberal agenda and propping up the failing capitalist
system towards representative democracy that actually represents the people
• Use their knowledge to guide elected representatives; enable implementation
through gaining skills in facilitating public participation effectively
• Keep a green agenda to the forefront
• More realistic planning
• Prioritise environment over economy
• Be interested
• As above - could roll out environmentally sustainable policies.
• Advise government
• Supporting communities to take action, removing regulatory barriers, financing
communities/business, supporting research/training/education, evaluating effect of
policy interventions

• Create and administer system of incentives and penalties to deliver on the above (Push
for stronger targets and radical commitments to change. Rethink economic system,
food sovereignty, production and distribution. Radically revisit education system.)
• Consult, advise, support.
• Make decisions based on positive. Climate Action effect
• Implement new system
• They must identify how climate change is going to affect their specific areas and then
put pressure on the Government to give them the funding they need.
• Read the agreements the international protocols your minister has signed and plan to
implement them
• Rise above vested and current interests
• implement changes
• They need to all be educated to see how close we are to disaster, so that everything is
done to minimise waste, and prioritise green policies
• Be held personally responsible for failure
• ensure that the policies and programmes are climate proofed
• Make directive change
• Set an example
• Heed the warnings and put planning laws that reflect building on areas that flood or
erode. Strengthen the integrity of the EPA against the lobbying of vested interests.
• Implement and initiate action
• Plant trees, clean energy solutions
• Stop treating it as business as usual. Fundamentals of planning and delivery of
services have to change.
• Ensure that all admin systems are stream lined to improve uptake of climate change
measures. Ensure the admin is free from operate or political obstruction
• Better regulation, legislation a commitment to 'green proof' economic and social
development plans; better education programmes; create better systems of
accountability particularly around economic activities, urban development and planning
• Implement existing laws properly.
• Realise that climate change is fundamental to ALL future possibilities. Must build this
reality into everything they do.
• Build defences and sustainable systems
• Be better informed and take action. Listen to the electorate
• Be open to change and me ways of thinking.
renewables. More towards zero waste. Phase out of all plastic non-recyclable
• Support incentives schemes, help communities understand the importance of
renewable energies
• Assist households businesses etc in emissions reduction by providing info and
expertise. Identify areas particularly vulnerable to flooding, tidal surges etc and
implement plans to protect and/or move people and property BEFORE the disaster
happens.
• Educating the country on the benefits of the above mentioned and also help to stop the
polluting of our drinking water
• Set and meet targets and provide feedback
• Accept their responsibility. Communicate, engage with and collaborate with industry,
employers, the public.

• Stop giving licences to companies that destroy the environment
• Climate plan for every county and govt dept
• Bottom up action, planning, act as leader, procuring based on sustainability criteria
• Assist the general public to reduce waste, recycle effectively, educate communities on
co-operative measures to live ecologically
• Put the planet before their pensions.
• Develop approach not in response to EU criteria but based on wider analysis of
suitability and available options
• Research, fund initiatives. Lead with policy
• Educate on what's needed. Stop buying. Zero waste.
• Educate and act
• Employ decent staff with knowledge in the area to lead teams to encourage
communities to transition to a save the earth
• Implement changes and educate .
• Discuss it
• Ensure every state service has definite targets to do with reducing emissions. Ensure
all new build is zero emission or near it. Take it seriously. Make a commitment.
Recognise that it is an existential threat to all life on earth. Stand up and be counted.
Educate electorate. Promote and support strong effective action. Ensure everything
they do takes account of climate change. Ensure all new build is zero emissions.
Support communities to set up community energy schemes. Retrofit homes.
• Properly advise the politicians. Work on drafting acts that are effective.
• Incentivise economic friendly transport, builds
• Provide local mitigation solutions
• Get informed, act on the evidence!
• Stop preaching, pushing & selling the opinions of anti groups to only seek their votes at
election.
• Help in role out of legislation and their initiatives. Awareness raising
• understand what is needed - facilitate responses - enable action - empower
communities
• Realise the implications of their inaction
• Help politicians to put detailed plans together to address climate change.
• Take the lead if politicians are not acting and work from the ground up. They have the
power to organise things locally like solar panels in all new builds for example
• Take climate change seriously and raise awareness internally and externally
• legislation-on fossil fuels, public transport, building regulations, pollution etc
• Promote positive actions in area
Economic system - industry, employers, business etc
• Examine own industries and act to ensure not contributing to climate change
• Innovate with cradle to cradle and low emission and no waste innovations
• Not much - they will only pay lip service/greenwash within current economic system
where they think only of shareholders and short term costs/profits
• Switch to green energy, invest in green solutions
• Review & act on how CC will affect their business
• Act now
• Climate change is more important than money
• Stop favouring carbon industries
• Implement

bad practices
• Use green energy, stop polluting, plant trees
• Climate change is fundamentally a consequence of industry and the capitalist structure
so i find it hard to imagine how industries can take climate change and maintain the
status quo of business as usual and endless growth
• Development of a green economy or alternative to the 'growth economy'; innovation;
• Write green measures into all future and current business plans.
• More rewards for participation in the workforce
• They are the enemy of living biosphere
• be responsible
• Formulate policies
• Inform themselves
• New business models, green jobs, making it easier for people to live more sustainably
• Economic system: need for total reconstitution. Bin capitalism. Industry: Support radical
reforms (which may include their own demise, or total transformation) . Employers:
Look work-from-home (to avoid communing) and other carbon-conscious choices for
workers.
• Work in partnership with state plans
• Consult, research, act and endorse.
• Incorporate climate into thinking and decisions as imposed constraint and whose
impact is a cost which needs to be avoided
• Complete transformation
• Key figures in the economic system, management of companies, institutions, and
industry must inform themselves about the likely impact of climate change upon their
businesses and on their employees. They have a big role in making the public
aware of what is coming.
• Do what you are told by government and don't resist. Plan now for a zero carbon
economy so you can stay ahead of regulatory burdens.
• Accept the need for strong climate regulation/taxes
• Make polluter pay
• Minimise packaging/waste, and make every effort to conduct their bus in a genuinely
sustainable way even if it means reducing profits
• Tax Fossil fuels
• Speak about it, reveal what impact their products and services have on climate
damaging emissions
• Instil an ethos with employees, make changes
• Tax relief for environmental awareness
• Take into account wastage and the circular movement.
• Take action on appropriate issues
• Clean energy solutions
• This is the toughest one. Neoliberal economics and the growth economy is completely
incompatible with climate change. Economics needs fundamental and rapid change.
• Change the way they think and realise the real environmental costs of environmental
damaging practices
• Not resist regulation; encourage better practices in industry; be market leaders
• Move towards sustainability. Be prepared to look at the long term picture rather than
short term gains/losses.
• Planning for reality of climate change will benefit business possibility. Business exists
within the natural environment. Not the other way round.

• Decarbonise everything, from supply chain management to facilities etc
• Be better informed and take action. Get involved financially it's a growth area
• Long term planning
renewables. More towards zero waste. Phase out of all plastic non recyclable
• Switch to corporate greening and recycle
• Reduce emissions.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle and a universal income, businesses the only have organic
produce and to stop the use of chemicals. Set up repair shops so people can learn how
to fix things at affordable prices.
• Radical self evaluation, economic system serves currently just aims for max profits so
how what motivation for real action
• Incentives/pay offs that are greater than non action
• Accept their responsibility. Communicate, collaborate and engage with councils,
employees, other business's, and the local community.
• Use hemp as an alternative
• Climate plan for every medium/large business
• Technology, driving green business practices,
• Switch to renewable energy sources, redesign product packaging to reduce waste.
Educate consumers to be responsible
• Realise that natural resources are finite.
• Invest in diversifying economy
• Reduce resource consumption and waste
• Shops need to stop covering everything in plastic. Have everything loose. Sell local.
Sell quality that lasts. No 2 for the price of one.
• Educate and make it easier to act
• Restructure of corrupt financial system. Keep the rest of the oil and gas in the ground.
• Encourage, educate.
• Discuss it
• Ensure their business is low carbon on all areas of its operation. Bike schemes.
• Introduce the circular economy
• Stop using dirty energy and dirty transport.
• Stop avoiding responsibility
• Do more to encourage others to take climate change serious.
• Move to more sustainable and low carbon business models
• understand what is needed - facilitate responses - enable action - engage in local /
circular economy
• Invest in protecting the environment
• Have a high carbon price to work within to reduce emissions in their businesses.
• Ensure that employees are aware of climate change and how to prevent it.
Publicise things like encouraging recycling , etc.
• Share their learning and actions to the wider community
• Changing work practices, packaging, energy generation, carpooling etc
• Say its real and reduce energy and emissions
Religious system - churches, clerics etc
• Preach to people to raise awareness

• Raise awareness and stimulate local action
• Not much as mostly irrelevant and if they have real influence they are being used by
people to pursue their own agendas e.g. US and ISIS - unless the evangelical Christian
and larger Muslim sects really come out strong with a moral imperative/fatwa I can't
see them making a difference
• Prayer? Education
• Moral leadership?
• Do more
• Talk about nature and Gods gift of Earth
• Stop interferring
• Serious education and awareness raising utilising these systems to inform members
• plant trees, spread the word
• In spiritual leadership roles the clergy have a responsibility to spread the idea that we
have a moral obligation to prevent run away climate change as we are literally killing
people and displacing millions
• take the threat as serious as an epidemic
• creating a conversation to raise awareness of minding the earth & climate justice
• More involvement
• Should stop perpetuating human exceptionalism
• Speak out
• They may still have a role to instruct and raise awareness.
• Awareness raising
• Talk to their flocks about climate change and include info. on their newsletters
• Communicating with legitimacy (to religious groups)
• Promote family planning.
• Inform and support at local level particularly where directly affected
• Promote awareness of global injustice consequent on climate change
• Complete transformation needed from anthropocentrism
• By all means let them lead prayers and supplications, but religious leaders must also
educate their congregations.
• Excommunicate all climate change deniers as publicly as possible.
• Confront their own beliefs with climate reality
• Guidance and educate
• Lead by example. Take action to reduce waste and encourage your congregation to
do the same. We are caretakers of God's planet and it is our duty to take care of it.
• https://laudatosi.com/watch
• Start to speak about it at their services
• Advocate
• Tell their sheep it's true !
• Give the message that climate change is the biggest threat to humanity
• Take action on relevant issues, communicate on ethical and moral aspects of caring for
environment
• Initiatives to protect nature
• They have been very slow to even talk about climate change, never mind take it
seriously.
• Recognise nature a part of us not separate
• Their influence is soft power - raising awareness, encouraging their congregations to
take steps to look after the planet
• Make followers aware of what is being done to the planet.

• Climate change, environmental damage etc is a moral issue. We need to educate
people to see the links.
• Activate the public, show leadership
• Pray involve their people in positive action
• Meh
• Encourage all to follow climate action policy and put pressure on elected
representatives as their moral duty as caretakers.
• Voice support for renewables
• Encourage their congregations to take action
• Start meditating and start living a monastic life, planetary healing
• Environmental responsibility has spiritual significance so help carry that into
consciousness
• More vocal
• Get involved with communities with green projects. Ask God for assistance.
• Stop waiting for god to fix it
• Give moral leadership if they remember how
• Education, community action
• Advocate a sympathetic attitude to the Earth we live on.
• Teach people to love the world their neighbour lives in.
• Promotion at social level
• Advocate respect and responsibility to world
• Maybe educate mass goers. Insist religious ceremonies i.e. Sacraments aren't so
materialistic. Get them to donate money after they've paid redress scheme.
• Preach
• Support people through the next economic shock or climate disaster
• Support , educate .
• Give an informed view
• Translate Laudato Si and similar edicts to the local level and set up schemes so that
every adherent can lower their emissions and live sustainably. Set a good example in
their own church.
• Talk to their congregations
• Show leadership, as per Pope Francis
• Read up more!
• Awareness raising, role modelling
• Understand what is needed - facilitate responses - enable action
• Work with their communities to advance change locally.
• Address moral issues of climate change to their flock.
• The Pope seems to have mentioned climate change already. For local clerics they
could mention it from the pulpit instead of dictating to the congregation about how to
live their lives
• Get their members to collaborate on action
• Promote info&action on the r.c laudato si; which is surprisingly radical
Sporting system - GAA, FAI etc
• Raise awareness and stimulate local action
• Given that it is the new religion and that it is capitalism on steroids it has a huge
influence on its audience. So, could have a role to play, in as much as public education
can actually change anything (I don't believe it will really, given that it would require real
soul-searching, an admission that our lifestyles are ruining the planet so unbearable

guild. Then we would have to be willing to actually change our lives - at such a radical/
fundamental level that I can't see most people as willing.
• Green pitch maintenance
• Look at some of their embedded practices that leads to wasteful resource use
• Act now
• Promote renewable energy
• Encourage the youth
• plant trees
• In so far as they are considered community pillars these organisations have a
responsibility to lead by example
• Creating a conversation to raise awareness in our communities...what can we do?
Promote green ethos to their members.
• More involvement
• Extract own head from arse
• Educate
• As above -operating their own organisations in a sustainable fashion and disseminating
information about climate change and actions people can take to mitigate its effects
• Awareness raising
• Communicating with legitimacy (to sporting groups), reaching people not normally
interesting in environmental messaging, supporting action through social norms/social
networks
• Support community initiatives.
• As religious
• Stop promoting fixtures which trigger air travel, use celebrity to promote action
• Contribute to cultural change
• Perhaps if they considered how their sports are going to be affected, it might help to
wake them up.
• Stop tearing around the country in SUVs every weekend. Schedule fixtures only in
locations which can be accessed by public transport or on foot or by bicycle.
• Get involved in community well being beyond sport
• Education
• Lead by example and encourage all members to reduce/reuse/recycle and to take
part in educational initiatives to show everyone involved how seriously we need to take
this
• No idea
• Sports and the arts need to be speak about it
• Advocate
• Set good example
• Invest some of their profits in fighting climate change.
• Take action on relevant issues
• Initiatives to protect nature
• Sport is by and large a consumer product nowadays, and completely tied to modern
economics, particularly professional sport.
• Encourage all their members to engage in the challenge
• Soft power - mainstream environmental policies into its practices, awareness building -
GAA in particular has enormous reach and platform with senior inter county games
• Encourage more sustainability amongst followers. Be a leader.

• Waste generated at matches, transport to and from. High lifestyle of top players. They
are undermining their own future. Solar panels on stadia roofs. Public transport to
matches. Food and drink at matches in reusable containers.
• As above
• They have a cultural importance
• Encourage all supporters and participants to follow climate change action Use
sustainable transport to sporting events. Electric buses, cycling, more bicycle stands at
stadiums, incentives for cycling for participants and fans.
• Voice support for renewables
• don't know
• No more contact sport, less aggression in activities
• Again help carry message into consciousness by leading by example where possible
• As above.
• More pro active with kids
• Educate, especially kids and parents
• Education, awareness
• Role model responsible attitudes towards consumer goods and the local environment
• Link with the few environmentally aware companies that exist.
• Engage members in local and national initiatives
• Leave grass verges around pitches for wild flowers. Travel less. Use fewer plastic
bottles.
• Encourage
• Become aware they have a role. Build support and educate everyone players
supporters etc. We need to regrow our lost community spirit.
• Education , education
• Give an informed view and encourage members
• Don't know.
• Talk to their fans and introduce low carbon lighting, buildings, etc
• Show leadership
• Read up more and take a leadership role in their communities.
• Understand what is needed - communicate to your communities - enable action
• Work with their communities to advance action locally
• Health benefits of reducing emissions among their patrons.
• Croke Park was recognised at the Green Awards last year for their recycling.Maybe
they could publicise recycling and renewable energy in their match programmes and
also put information out to local clubs around the country
• Get their members to collaborate on action
• say its real and reduce energy and emissions
Media - printed, online, radio etc
• Raise awareness
• Raise awareness and stimulate local and government action
• Promote renewable energy
• Green sponsors, advertisers
• Forget balance & the inclusion of perpetrators of denial; recognise scientific consensus
• Act now
• Take stronger stances on climate change

• Tell the truth
• plant trees, spread the word about positive cc projects
• Unfortunately there is very little by the way of unbiased journalism available as they are
all owned by corporations whose interests they must meet
• Translation of 'science' speak and 'economic' speak; representation of the
facts...climate change is not a debate anymore; the debate is now how to do we go
about realising a vision for a 'non-carbon' future
• Promote educate and keep the conversation going
• More information. More debate and information
• Stop being prostitutes to industry
• Information
• As above.
• Printing accurate information to public awareness
• Include more articles re climate change
• Reporting accurately and coherently, prioritising issues that matter
• Highlight innovative examples of community, national and international action. Treat the
issues as an urgent priority
• Provide consistent info and analysis
• Research, advise, propagate information, act and endorse.
• Highlight inaction of politicians, scandalise.it
• Report on reality
• The public must pester the media to hold intelligent discussions and provide
information.
• Beyond redemption. No change until advertisers money tells them it's OK to discuss
climate change.
• Be informed gatekeepers for fact-based free speech
• Constantly doing features, help advice
• Has huge power to educate and influence people. Use this to educate and encourage
people to take a personal interest in living as sustainably as possible. Also, put
pressure on government to take swift decisive action to help society to become more
sustainable
• Stop with the balance where the 1% are treated as 50%
• More mainstream media need to do focused pieces on CC
• Advocate, print the truth
• Tell the truth!
• Reflect the most up to date information and publish articles from reputable experts in
that field
• Articulate issues in order to educate the public
• Spread awareness
• The media is completely in thrall to growth economics, and therefore has no capacity to
take climate change seriously.
• Keep open and honest information on climate change top of the agenda. Focus on
positive aspects of dealing with climate change to encourage people to change
• Hold political, economic and administrative system to account, give publicity to the
work of environmental agencies; platform for discussion
• Tackle business or people who deny and hinder change. Be more pro-education on the
matter.
• Need to see it as a real issue. Talk about it. Commission articles on it. Publish the
research.

• Highlight reality of climate change and organise more interactive dialogue
• Look at brexit, pepper are influenced by media
• Support Climate Action, daily news item in every publication across all media. Employ
trained knowledgable climate change correspondents.
• print facts, hear from both sides of the story, help people understand what will happen
to our world
• Report more on climate change. stop discussing it as if it's a theory
• Reporting the truth about what is happening and help educate the people on issues
and ways of tackling climate change
• Huge role in informing and critical analysis of policy and many of the token scheme to
tackle it. Need to dig deep to show real causes and solutions don't come from treating
symptoms as is current approach in many instances
• Tell the truth rather than what advertisers want them to tell us.
• Stop reporting what some nobody does
• Report on the science & causation behind extreme weather
• Awareness, focussing more on climate change
• Include programming content on grass roots initiatives regarding sustainable living and
alternative energy sources
• Shake off the shackles of their corporate owners and advertisers.
• Informed and engaged debate in DuPont of achieving no targets by calling out pubic
figures as necessary
• Report on effects and threats.
• Keep informing. Get people on board. I think media is ok, just not backed up by
government. Media should call out the government on its lack of action.
• Educate more insistently
• Stop hating on every change. this is going to be difficult enough but they need to get on
board if we are to be successful
• Highlight important issues, educate, open people's eyes
• Give unbiased information
• Start to report more on what is a serious existential threat for life on earth. Features
that explain the science - such as what runaway climate change really is, and why it is
urgent that we take action - and critically how it can be too late if we leave it much
longer.
• Stop giving credence to climate deniers or equal time. Take time to research eg RTEs
interview about developing new airport runways was ill informed of the issues.
• Start to cover the issue
• Provide fact checked reporting of Climate change
• Act responsibly & do their damn job!
• Stop reporting publishing nonsense just to clicks and readership, Matt Dempsey an
example.
• understand what is needed - communicate responses - tell the stories of what is
working - enable action
• Raise awareness and the how to stories
• Educating the population about the huge problem of climate change and how we can
help/advocate/push politicians about acting on climate change.
• Mainstream media is generally unwilling to mention climate change. Maybe have more
information on climate change and how it will affect everyone and measures to help
stop it. They have mentioned the glaciers breaking away but not the implications of it
• Act responsibly and share solutions, actions - what works

• print&speak the truth of climate change!and what can de bone at every level from
individual to community to society to global
• Discount misinformation Print real information
Community system - street, estate, town, village etc
• Enact local policies to help
• Innovate locally - support greenways
• Not a great believer in grassroots "baby steps" (sorry!) when we are in the thrall of big
industry, big manipulation and inept/corrupt government. That said, I and my
community are trying to tackle it at our own level and at least we can show others an
example. Not too hopeful though.
• Educate
• Need to break the stranglehold of Love Island & Big Brother & get people to talk to
each other!
• Do more
• Move toward renewable energy use
• Help each other
• Access to real information in what we can do Incentives to be more environment aware
support in implementing
• grow food, plant trees, recycle, reduce consumption
• If only in terms of building resilience in the face of catastrophic changes the community
is where the midst significant change will emerge if we work together
• thinking globally and acting locally; what will work in our area and working as a
community to achieve it; working with local government
• Support each other
• Incorporated into town festivals
• Action Action Action
• Fight industry and corporations
• Be informed
• From a grass roots level communities can act themselves whether it is through
biodiversity supportive projects, energy self sufficiency, food self sufficiency, shared
transport, education programmes etc. This level may be the most important - they can
also act to demand action from their government.
• Be aware of our impact and act according. Pressure government and others.
• Encourage communities to be more aware of climate change
• Supporting small scale initiatives, building the social networks and trust in which
collective action depends, co-producing public services (inc energy), advocating
collectively
• Community audits to identify practical ideas - lift sharing, library of things, community
meals, allotments, etc
• As Religious plus education, local and household initiatives
• Do everything they can to minimise their footprint
• Implement change
• If there were a few environmental activists in each community area around the country
they could help a lot by encourage people to adjust their diets, improve the supply of
fresh fruit and vegetables in their community, and cut back on the mindless
consumptions of food items that have to be flown half-way around the world when
locally grown food would be better and more consistent with not wasting energy. Local
GIY groups could develop free food schemes.

• Get together to form defence committees to build community resilience against the
failure of government and the state system to operate democratically.
• Get real about climate risk and energy democracy
• Educational, working as a team
• lead by example, and promote ways to improve sustainability in the community and to
make it as easy as possible for people to participate
• Build resilience -- share transport, food and accommodation
• if supported to engage then they could do a lot
• Take small collective actions
• Act together to make their areas great
• Express your wishes through environmental groups
• Action, co-operation and communication on key issues of local relevance
• Generally in the future this will be the most important aspect for resilience. With hostile
media and business community, very hard to get a meaningful widespread message
out at community level.
• Change their mindsets, their homes and work with their larger community
• Grassroots community initiatives, tidy towns; recycling; local renewable energy
schemes; community compost bins; community allotments;
• Encourage and facilitate each other to be more sustainable. Become more
knowledgeable as to what they can do.
• Foster natural habitats in the area. Use local plants. Encourage wildlife. Please limit
pesticides and herbicides. Develop community wind generation. Allow excess power
back into the grid.
• Build sustainable systems, prepare for challenges ahead
• Greater dialogue get involved with schools hospitals
• It's hard to work against your community, they have to understand and accept new
ways
• Community gardens, energy, sharing systems, connected communities, resilience
training. Food security storage and training for climate extreme weather events.
• Incorporate renewables into their community, recycle properly
• Prepare for the worst at local level - food security, community energy generation etc
• To work as a community by installing Eco systems and organic community vegetable
and fruit growing, set up repair shop
• Take positive action, bottom up approach is where real solution will eventually come
from, top down will bureaucratic and corrupt as per usual, lead by example
• Funding and education
• Don't wait for any of the above for direction or to give money. There is so much that can
be achieved by taking very simple actions as a community.
• Are doing all they can with little or no support
• Community organised movements to educate and change behaviour
• Group action, energy communities, car sharing
• Develop sustainable links within communities that foster a less disposable attitude to
consumer culture
• Stop waiting for leadership from above.
• Active incorporation into daily practice
• Community initiatives re food, transport, energy use.
• Get local cafés to get rid of disposable cups. Get shops to get rid of stupefying , etc.
Signs up that you're welcome to bring your own containers for food. Stop wrapping in
plastic.
• Get involved
• People need to reengage with their neighbours

• Educate , implement
• Raise local awareness
• Conserve energy, district heating systems, joint retrofitting on a number of houses, use
common land to grow food and show people how to grow food in their gardens, edible
landscapes, project to educate people on energy efficiency.
• Work on transition town projects
• Community power but who has money???
• Co-op renewable energy initiatives
• Support shift to resilient communities
• Read up more and take a leadership role in their communities.
• Grass roots activism, demand legislation
• Understand what is needed - facilitate co-operative responses - enable action
• Collaborate on action
• Sense of worth, responsibility & value
• Help with environmentally friendly activity in communities.
• Build green measures from the ground up even if it's only a community clean up of
rubbish. Also encourage recycling and other green initiatives
• Start taking action locally
• Allotments and community garden, carpooling, local shopping, advocate for better
public transport, campaign against fracking, oil, gas etc. campaign for community
owned renewable energy systems
Home - how about you & yours
• Act to reduce family's eco footprint and vote for political parties who wish to combat
climate change
• Raise awareness, take local action to reduce emissions
• As community above - we do what we can as a family but it doesn't really bring others
along and if I'm honest I wonder what I and we have really achieved after all these
years - the planet is in a worse state than ever and we don't even seem to have
influenced our wider family to act differently, let alone the wider society...
• Educate, learn, practice
• Doing my best: meat consumption slashed; bike used > car; but difficult to break air
travel
• Do more
• Move toward renewable energy use
• Make others aware and support
• Access to real information in what we can do Incentives to be more environment aware
support in implementing
• reduce consumption, electric vehicle
• Being conscious that as a consumers we are always party of the problems of climate
change, slave labour, displacement of people, war and all other side products of
capitalism
• taking the threat a serious and trying to inform people
• reduce consumption! our eating, shopping, travel and leisure habits; being more
mindful of the real cost to both society and the environment
• Think green across all actions on a daily basis
• Less packaging
• Action Action Action
• Undermine economy and system
• Be responsible

• Whilst each person can of course change their individual behaviour and consumption-it
has been clear for a long time at this stage that changes in individual behaviour are not
sufficient to prevent the disastrous effects of climate change. This approach although
educationally great will not compensate for the huge changes that must be made at
industrial and transnational level. People can agitate though for changes in policy as
well as changing their individual behaviour and if enough people did so the twin
approach would reap benefits.
• As above
• Reduce recycle and especially encourage young people to do same
• Keep making the small changes-recycling, power & water use, purchasing awareness-
less packaging
• Same as above.
• Involvement in the above (community initiatives) as well as lobbying for political
responsibility
• Reduce reuse recycle, energy awareness, organic gardening, lobbying
• Research, act and endorse.
• Take less flights
• Implement change
• I have started on growing my own food, recycling what I can, and my next step is to
start "abundance gardening", i.e., giving away what I don't need in the hopes that
people will begin to realise that the situation is serious.
• Stop driving. Convert all family members to public transport or cycling. Grow potatoes.
Refuse packaging waste. Recycle more. Convert remaining lights to LEDs.
• Engage politically to enable strong climate governance
• Ground up, educate, put into practice and maintain
• To take it seriously and to be prepared to be inconvenienced in order to live more
sustainably
• Not important
• Gradually addressing energy use at home and I'm involved in campaigning with NGOs
• Make changes
• Very active environmentally,
• Continue my work against legally burning waste which is not sustainable and harms the
environment
• Family discussion, ethical consumption, care for environment in dealing with waste,
sustainable lifestyle, care for property, garden etc in sustainable ways
• High levels of awareness and knowledge. Actions don't always meet our aspirations,
but we try!
• Learn what we can engage where we can, demand change form our politicians and
local representatives
• Raise awareness; advocate for greener energy sources; educate ourselves on issues;
talk to people; make lives as green as possible; hold political, economic, administrative
system to account
• Be more sustainable. Change shopping and consumption habits.
• Buy less. Waste less. Shop locally, esp local producers. Limit plastic. Use public
transport. Educate ourselves. Get active in local community.
• Show more leadership locally
• Learn more continue to read listen discuss issues amongst ourselves dry targets re
waste disposal
• It all starts at home
• Keep doing what we are doing and encourage more to join us.
• More focus on recycling

• We grow our own food, limit car use, don't ﬂy, buy everything we can second hand. we
have pretty much given up talking to others about climate change because we feel like
hardly anybody listens or cares
• To have access to affordable solar and wind turbine homes, stop using coals and gas's
in our home's. Be able to have access to electric cars. Stop using chemicals in the
homes, start growing our own fruit and vegetables
• As per community, lead by example
• Recycle vegan radical reduction in the use of fossil fuel limit the purchase of plastic
• As above.
• Doing what we can
• Reduce carbon and ask family and friends also
• Waste reduction, eat less meat
• Reduce, re-use, recycle. Want less. Think more.
• Change how we do things, buying etc.
• Daily practices
• Be the change, esp re consumption
• We're doing our best. But, we drive to much to get foods without packaging and that is
ethically grown. We're growing our own now. Have stopped eating red meat. Getting
native trees plants for bees. Not cutting grass. But it all seems so futile. Really losing all
hope and quite down tbh.
• Address it not ignore it
• We need to talk about your food supply. We need to regrow our lost community spirit.
• Educate
• Keep doing my best
• Keep doing what we do: heating off most of the time, turn off lights, walk instead of
drive, not too many showers, and improve even more by getting solar panels.
• Think before shopping, shop local, don't waste, walk whenever possible. Don't take too
many ﬂights.
• Very little as I'm broke.
• Reduce consumption of material goods
• We can all do MUCH more, including me!
• Continue to keep up to date with the research on climate change and how we can help
to mitigate further warming of the earth.
• Grass roots activism, lobbying politicians, personal changes
• Understand what is needed - respond - collaborate
• Consider your home and act with your community
• Sense of worth, responsibility & value & urgency
• Reducing our individual greenhouse gas footprint by less air travel, less car and more
cycling and public transport, and eating less meat.
• Recycling and also using more green energy solutions. Taking public transport where
available instead of using the car
• Get involved
• Become more aware and change habits-what to buy, where to buy, travel, heating,
sharing, borrowing, reduce, re use etc
• house already fossil free, waiting to change car

Question 5: What, if anything, is stoping them from taking
action to tackle climate change?
Political system - elected representatives, councillors etc.
• fear of not being re-elected
• Short term tenure - they will be out of power when the consequences of their actions
and inactions manifest. Also, a lack of real intelligence, big picture thinking or a
relationship with Nature - the systemic inertia is too great that it would demand super-
humans to envisage and carry out the necessary changes. Also, they are in the
pockets of Big Business, particularly the "ideological pocket", even if they're not corrupt
- they see present day capitalism as the only way and to tackle climate change they
would have to act radically.
• Not a priority to voters, pressures from industries
• Ignorance, stupidity, me-feinism, corruption
• Nothing in it for them
• Divergent interests
• The Healy Rae voting base.
• Power from big industries and payments
• Lack of will too busy too stressed disinterested cognitive dissonance ignorance
ignoring
• heads in the sand
• Neo- liberalism
• votes and corporations and narrow minds
• Lack of leadership; lack of societal push to do something!
• Maybe they perceive the voters don't care
• No unity
• Lack of knowledge and absolutely no will to make changes
• Captured by vested interests
• Not serving their own individual interests
• Lack of political will, short term nature of political terms in office. Disempowerment.
Capitalism - ideology - they believe that somehow industry will find a way to make it all
be solved.
• Inertia. Not enough votes
• Vested interests perhaps
• Lack of funds and trying not to rock the boat
• Fear, a lack of ownership of the issue due to low knowledge, complexity and
timeframes, votes, centralised political system in Ireland i.e. ministers acting like
county/city councillors, a lack of systems thinking, poor service design, an aversion to
evidence and data
• This is a very difficult question. Could it be a Death wish? Insane greed? Utter belief
that their wealth will insulate them from the social, political, economic and
environmental shit storm coming down the tracks.
• Fear and/or inability to get around the scale of change, concern with current matters,
some have vested interests esp in the US
• Pressure from lobby groups and political self interest.
• Short term interest and lack of accountability in the political system to the
consequences
• Fear of losing support, and losing power
• The don't think it's an election issue.
• Fear of short-term negative consequences: losing
• lining their own pockets

• It's not popular. Often people feel we need to prioritise health/education /housing which
are all urgent needs but which won't matter at all if we don't take action to save the
planet from the effects of climate change
• Money and Growth imperative and corruption
• Short term election cycle, vested interests, apathy
• Misguided, money, wanting to be liked
• Money , greed
• Vested Interests, who lobby for profit.
• Concerned about next election. Fear of conflict with vested interests - farmers,
businesses, foreign investors etc. No true committed advocates
• Oil/petrol companies
• Because quite simply it's not what the electorate want.
• Vested interests
• Lack of political will; economic interests - farming in particular in Ireland; lack of political
salience in Irish electorate
• Fear of losing votes.
• Short term focus on the next election. Climate change planning needs longer focus.
• Influence of business interests
• Mix of indifference ignorance overload information
• Short term politics
• Not seen as vote Better, lack of public pressure as opposed to industry pressure.
• Certain people in the DCCAE are against some renewables, they don't tell local reps to
support for renewables.
• not a vote- winning issue
• Interest groups, does it win votes, fear of radical changes required, lack of real belief or
engagement in issues, they have been desensitised from one issue after another
• Disinterest and no corporate backing or assurance
• Vested interests have too much power.
• Money
• Fear of losing votes for changes such as carbon tax
• Not on political agenda, driven by growth & votes
• Consumer culture, corporate lobby groups, political inertia.
• Inertia of the system
• Political tactics and electioneering
• Intelligence, perceived economic responsibility.
• Too difficult and lack of vision. Electorate not pushing either.
• Too busy too keen on re election
• No consciousness of the issues. Corruption. Money. lack of direction and leadership
• Not enough in it for their own selfish gain
• Lack of interest/ votes
• They don't give a shit.
• Ignorance and short termism
• No will
• CC not seen as priority issue in short term
• Inertia, cowardice
• Fear of loosing votes. Pressure from groups with vested interests.
• They don't feel.like majority care enough, vested interests lobbying against change
• Stuck in a system that cannot respond - blind to the challenges and not enough
understanding of the potential of decentralising and enabling community action
• Useless vested interested ignorance
• Couldn't even bothered

• Constituents not badgering them enough about climate change, inertia, seen as long-
term problem not requiring their short term actions.
• Money and lobbying from fossil fuel companies
• Ignorance and anti climate action lobby groups. Fear of change
• Lack of political will, neoliberal ideology
• No votes in it, hospitals, housing, water more important
Administrative system - state agencies, councils, civil service etc
• fear
• Same as pols except for the short-term nature of their tenure but they are up against
huge systemic inertia lack the courage/support to stand up and try to educate their
bosses and politicians - because they know if they do they will get dismissed as
radicals/cranks and lose status. We know what happens to whistleblowers in this
country!
• Lack of education, quick solutions without awareness of long term damage
• Lack of vision, money, responsibility, capability
• Need for good leadership thorough proper research
• No political benefits
• No support
• Lack of will too busy too stressed disinterested cognitive dissonance ignorance
ignoring
• don't have priorities right, too much red tape
• As above
• lack of resources
• system inertia; lack of political leadership e.g. road building vs resourcing mobility via
public transport
• Not sure.
• No unity
• They need their priorities changed
• Not money making
• Lack of leadership from government. Low priority of climate change on all work
plans
• Not rated highly
• Vested interests and resistance to change and ignorant of facts re climate change
• Lack of funding and resources from central government
• Not part of their job.
• No political leadership
• An inherent right wing bias focused entirely on business and the economy seen
through a filter of group think and consensus.
• No obligation to act, no short term consequence in terms of position
• No leadership, no imagination, no finances
• They don't think their political masters are serious.
• Corporate capture by vested interests
• No guidance nor importance
• Lack of education, lack of a sense of urgency, lack of leadership, and pressures to
prioritise other things
• Stasis and politicians
• Their political masters are not interested. also their immediate lifestyle like car spaces
at work may be lost

• Money, buy in
• Apathy
• Strong connections with industries that lobby.
• Lack of direction - clear directives and policies
• Very slow, and reluctant, to change. Those who rise within the system are not
innovators, but very much tend to be status quo type people.
• Vested interests
• Ineptitude, no pressure from above or below. No desire to take on new projects or
ideas.
• Policy takes too long to develop and change.
• Insufﬁcient public demand
• Lack of political will; economic interests - farming in particular in Ireland; lack of political
salience in Irish electorate
• Short term politics
• Lack of knowledge and political policy legislation.
• Ignorance to renewables, don't read facts
• lack of knowledge, no mandate from politicians to do anything. no funding
• Lack of accountability or pressure from above and below, bureaucracy and inability to
change quickly or think for themselves, need blueprint from somewhere else
• Disinterest
• Vested interests have too much power.
• Money
• Bureaucratic inertia
• No resources, not in agenda from top down, not skilled in area
• Are following an out-dated structure dictate by successive political leaders.
• Inertia of the system
• Lack of genuine commitment, a task to be completed, inertia
• Direction from political body
• Too difﬁcult.
• Not good leadership from above
• Political will, lack of direction
• Not enough money or support
• No reason to
• Ignorance and lack of leadership
• No will
• CC not seen as priority issue in short term
• Inertia
• Fear of loosing votes. Pressure from groups with vested interests.
• Not a priority, not resourced enough
• Stuck in a system that cannot respond - institutional thinking - over worked and lacking
cohesion
• Their pension is safe. They think so anyway!
• Inertia, bureaucracy, lack of direction from politicians
• As above lobbying and also directions given to councillors from other members of their
parties in positions above them in Parliaments
• Apathy and reluctance to change. Lack of political will and leadership to change
• bureaucratic dinosaurs, lack of will, neoliberal ideology there too
• no votes in it, hospitals, housing, water more important

Economic system - industry, employers, business etc
• fear
• Like the politicians they are trapped or willing participants in capitalism - plus personal
greed, short-term thinking, lack of personal or corporate consequences for their
behaviour
• Money
• Preoccupation with growth at all costs; making money
• Research that will prove the success of their involvement
• Perceived costs and vested interests in fossil fuels
• Cost
• More interested in bottom line profit ect too busy ect as above
• all about profits at any cost
• Being products of a sick and failing system
• lack of interest ,only interested in profits
• structures/policies not in place to promote a 'green' / 'circular economy. e.g. community
energy generation and access to the grid; fossil fuel divestment
• A lot already are
• No interest
• They must be forced to internalise all costs
• laziness
• Capitalism, lack of enforcement or regulation. Capitalism :-)
• Cost
• Vested interests and huge dependence on oil in industry
• Affect it would have on bottom line-
• No market demand, lack of skills, poor regulatory environment, global
• This is a very difficult question. Could it be a Death wish? Insane greed? Utter belief
that their wealth will insulate them from the social, political, economic and
environmental shit storm coming down the tracks.
• Lack of leadership, vested interest
• A focus on current operations and margins. A conservatism that leads to reluctance to
take radical action.
• Short term profit driven
• Too worried by political systems, BrExit, austerity, etc., to do anything
• The don't believe the politicians are serious. They know a fix is always possible is they
ask the right politician.
• Short-term investment horizon; fear of regulation
• polluter pays. money corruption
• most businesses prioritise profit over everything else and won't become more
sustainable unless forced to by government regulations
• Money and Growth imperative and corruption
• Environmental costs are not properly built into price of goods and services eg airlines
industry
• Cost implications, not enough legislation
• No desire to change
• They don't connect climate change as affecting them in the future
• Profit before sustainability

• There is a fundamental conflict between conventional growth economics and climate
change. Without a fundamental reshaping of all business and economics, there will be
no real progress.
• Cheap oil and lack of proper supports
• Priority is profit
• Fear of short to medium term costs outweighing any benefits. Unsure if they will lose
ground to competitors by getting involved. No financial incentive or benefit is obvious to
them.
• Dirty solutions are often cheaper in the short run. Business has first duty to the
shareholders. This year's returns are most significant.
• No regulatory incentives
• Short term shareholder requirements
• Measurement of success of unsustainable economic principle of GDP and GNP.
• No reason
• Economic growth seen as more important than anything else
• Lack of incentive, profit drives business, system doesn't think morally or engage in
events that have never happen before,
• Financial loss
• Too busy trying to survive.
• Money
• Cost of adapting
• Is it in the interest of industry to change?
• Profit motive supersedes all else.
• Affecting short term to fit and interests
• Lack of legislation, leadership from political system
• Set in their ways. We need to push.
• Profits, lack of direction
• No reprimand if things done change .
• No reason to as it doesn't effect profit
• They don't give a shit unless it affects the bottom line.
• Ignorance and neither carrot nor stick
• No will
• Risk to economic growth
• Bad habits; lack of proper risk management
• Knowledge, connections to people / groups with a vested interest in resisting
decarbonisation.
• Not seen as a priority, costs too much
• Stuck in a system that cannot respond - not seeing the opportunities of the circular and
local economy
• Perhaps the lack of government commitment
• Seems like more work & less profit
• Very poor carbon price is not motivating businesses to reduce carbon usage.
• Too much money being made in the capitalist system from fossil fuel companies. Also
an attitude of I'm all right Jack it doesn’t affect me
• Political apathy - lack of support or incentive
• The very economic system, capitalism, driver of climate change!so a radical change
needed
• Lack of pressure & some actively blocking & misinformation
Religious system - churches, clerics etc

• fear
• See section 4. above - the radical/populist churches are more interested in politics and
power mongering rather than actually seeing the moral imperative of safeguarding the
planet for this and future generations and the old churches e.g. Catholic, have very little
real influence
• Not a priority
• Who knows?
• Public backing
• To support the systems of change
• Struggling to stay relevant and find vocations
• Loosing control
• Focused on getting more in their congregation disinterested too greedy on upper
circles not motivated
• people aren't demanding it
• Lack of motivation
• lack of interest on local level
• religious groups are beginning to voice the importance of climate justice especially
agencies who are witnessing the consequences of climate change in their development
work
• Nothing to gain
• Their moral code is messed up
• Don’t care
• They are I think doing what they can.
• Not seen as their area
• LACK OF KNOWLEDGE
• Lack of political leadership and practical initiatives
• Again a conservatism that often identifies with "the status quo".
• I don't know!
• They're irrelevant to society, why would anyone listen to them?
• Cultural conditioning, avoiding science
• Lack of awareness, and leadership in the area of sustainability
• Ignorance
• They are afraid of vested interests in their communities - farmers and businesses
• Beliefs
• They don't believe it!
• Totally caught up in their own problems
• Could have a part in public education
• Cowardice
• Until recently, they were completely absent from the discourse on climate change. I
have found many of the faithful the least willing to take action on climate change, with
notable exceptions.
• disconnection form the natural world, needs to see them selves as part of it
• Fear of being seen to be 'political'
• No interest in something which they believe doesn't affect them.
• They are stepping up. They see the lines connecting responsible living, the care of the
planet and morality.
• Stuck in the past
• They no inform but could do more to increase awareness of personal responsibility and
lovy politicians and business. To divest from all fossil fuels as a moral duty.
• Lack of knowledge
• Used as a roll out sentiment when surges of concern peak

• Couldn’t care less
• Don't know how/Don't think it concerns them
• Science Vs religion
• Perhaps the religious community do not feel empowered to act at this level.
• Mostly old farts....
• Lack of interest and fear of losing inﬂuence ifa, has
• Ignorance, inertia.
• They're corrupt. Think of themselves.
• Fear and loss of trust
• In a circular bubble no consequences
• Not aware maybe they have a role
• It's too much effort to do it.
• Inertia
• Knowledge.
• Don't know
• Stuck in a system that cannot respond - large communities but even the Popes
encyclical didn't get much of a response
• No vision. No urgency.
• Inertia, feeling that humans are more important in Gd's eye than the rest of biodiversity
on the planet.
• Not the most important thing for the churches as they need to have people in fear of
God instead
• Don't understand the scale of the issue or actions
• lack of will, of courage of moral backbone
• Connect with the community more, talk about it
Sporting system - GAA, FAI etc
• no interest
• See section 4. above - they are focussed only on their particular interest at the lower
levels (and not radical or concerned with bigger picture issues) and at the higher levels,
on power and money
• Not a priority
• "Doesn't apply to them". Need leadership off the ﬁeld
• Informed good leadership
• Greed
• Investment
• Focused on teams PR money making running squads ect
• no incentive
• Compliance with the system - lack of radical or critical thinking
• lack of leadership
• not a priority for organisations
• Maybe they aren't sure exactly what they could be doing
• Sponsorship
• Needs to be shrunk to 1 or 2% of present size
• No interest
• Lack of interest or not recognising it as their responsibility
• as above
• LACK OF KNOWLEDGE

• Not seen to be their role
• As religious
• An inbuilt social conservatism that often identifies climate change activists as social
radicals who are outside of the official consensus.
• Self interest in keeping things the same with promoters and venues . Interest based
dictates approach.
• I don't think they really believe it is happening. If they are, then they are like lamped
rabbits sitting in the middle of the road hypnotised by the approaching car lights.
• Only interested in making sure the greatest possible number of people drive the
greatest possible number of miles to follow their sport, regardless of the carbon
emissions. Nothing matters except filling stadia, regardless of the cost to the
community or the planet.
• Local focus avoiding global reality
• don't know
• lack of awareness, and leadership in the area of sustainability
• N/A
• not asked by the Government and other leaders to get involved
• More awareness
• Not connected to the common good
• Could have a stronger role in public education, and in visible action or changes at
key public events e.g banning plastic use,
• oil/petrol companies
• Sport is too globalised, and needs to be brought back to local level. E.g. The following
of oversees football teams should be discouraged in favour of local teams.
• Not really on the radar
• Lack of interest
• Lack of education or examples as to what they could actually do. Fear of being laughed
at by supporters. No incentive obvious to them.
• Costs too much to retrofit sports grounds.Season too short. Intake too low to invest in
premises.
• Don't grasp their potential to help
• Don't know
• Cultural stuff
• Lack of knowledge and awareness of how to act and be part of the solution.
• Funding
• probably feel like it's not relevant to them
• Lack of knowledge
• As above
• support
• Don't know how/Don't think it concerns them
• Voluntary administration at grass roots level, probably varies from club to club.
• Never ones to rock the boat, in thrall to corporate sponsorship.
• Goes against short term interest
• Ignorance, intelligence, myopia
• Set in their ways also.
• Leaderships not focused or conscious of their roles as change makers and
supporters
• No reward for education
• Not aware that they could influence
• Ignorance
• Don't feel as if it's their issue?

• Knowledge
• Don't know
• Stuck in a system that cannot respond - large communities not informed of issues
• No urgency
• Don't see it as an issue for them.
• No money in it for them
• Don't understand the scale of the issue or actions
• Connect with the community more, talk about it
Media - printed, online, radio etc
• Traditional media didn't want to rock the capitalist boat and now that it's ok to report on
it they do but they are hugely embedded in current financial and political system (more
and more concentrated in fewer hands) so don't want to risk their advertising revenues
or challenge political allies. New media is full of talk and keyboard warrior-ing so has
limited capacity for tackling climate change. As we are all talking within our small echo
chambers we only talk to like-minded people and don't influence those who are outside
them.
• Not a priority
• Outdated view of 'balance'; ownership in hands of the powerful
• To do away with bias & print the truth
• Trying to stay neutral
• Influence from industry
• No profit in funded by big business no vision don't care
• Biased towards corporate interests
• just not enough written about it
• There has been a change in language around this subject in the media over the last 5
years means the media is taking on some of the challenge; however still facilitating the
debate 'is climate change real'; scientists need to learn how to talk to the media!
• Not a popular agenda?
• Not a popular topic
• Corporate political control
• Boring
• Capitalism. Group think. Many media outlets do in fact do their best to raise
awareness.
• Play to the public
• Mainstream news resistant to change. They depend on advertisers and don't want to
rock the boat
• Need to sell papers
• Inertia, nothing is being done so there's nothing to report
• Most media in the Republic of Ireland is focused on relaying a conservative, right wing,
"Business focused" ideology.
• Advertisers call the shots too often unless u r the Guardian newspaper
• Fear doesn't sell newspapers unless it's something happening far away on the other
side of the world.
• Politicians aren't serious, business knows it, they pay for advertising to promote
consumption, climate change threatens profits, and the politicians aren't serious
anyway.
• Dumbing down, loss of science expertise, false balance

Climate survey responses august 2017 tod

Climate survey responses august 2017 tod

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