TEENAGERS SPOKE yesterday about being "frightened" about climate change and said they felt almost "powerless" to stop it.
About 100 young people from across the State met in Dublin at an event hosted by Eco-Unesco, an environmental education and youth organisation which aims to raise awareness of environmental issues among young people.
The first national What's So Hot About Climate Change?day brought the teenagers together to meet environmental experts, discuss their own concerns and to bring back recommendations.
They were addressed by Minister for the Environment John Gormley, who said a strategy on developing "green-tech" energy and promoting green transport would be published shortly.
He said the jobs-growth area of the future would be in research and development in these areas, particularly in sustainable energies such as tidal and wind.
"We have fantastic potential here in terms of wind and wave energy and yet we have until now missed the boat. We need to change that by investing in RD."
It was vital that in Ireland emissions be reduced to 2005 levels.
"It is a big ask. If we are to keep temperature rises below two degrees we will have to reduce emissions by 85 per cent by 2050."
He spokes of desertification, flooding and environmental refugees.
Among the young people there was Emily Colgan (15) from Rathfarnham, Dublin. She said she and her friends discussed climate change: "You really do wonder what can they do about it? I mean, all the things they talk about are so expensive and there's a recession on."
Thomas O'Donnell (16) from Walkinstown, Dublin, said of climate change: "It frightens me, frightens me that we may not even be able to live on this planet in 50 years' time.
"What the Minister was saying about all the things that could happen - it really makes you want to do something, and then it all seems like such a huge job you can feel powerless."
He said he and friends were recently discussing evolution and got "randomly on to climate change and wondering how long the planet is going to last".
Elaine Nevin, national director of Eco-Unesco, said young people were very worried about climate change, but it was important they didn't feel defeated by it but encouraged to get involved in addressing it.
