An Irish person has a carbon footprint equal to that of 88 Ethiopians

Individuals can do several things to live more sustainably – such as flying less, using public transport, eating more plant-based foods and using government grants to get their accommodation retrofitted with insulation and solar panels.

But we won’t achieve the scale of change needed to prevent catastrophic climate breakdown if we act only as individuals, focusing solely on our own carbon footprints. The average Irish person has a carbon footprint equal to the carbon footprint of 88 Ethiopians. And the richest 10 per cent of the Irish population emit nearly as much as the bottom 50 per cent. We need systems change to reduce the emissions of the wealthy – and make it possible for everyone to automatically live more sustainably in an affordable way. Campaigning for change like this is the most impactful thing that most individuals can do to address the climate crisis.

Our current economic system demands endless compound growth – and with that growth comes increasing emissions and resource use. Pursuing infinite growth on a finite planet is suicidal. We need to change our economic system so that it doesn’t rely on endless growth and puts the wellbeing of people first, while reducing our collective emissions and energy demand. That will make it possible to transition from fossil fuels to renewables at the speed needed to prevent the worst climate impacts – while also improving quality of life for many people. We need a big, diverse social movement to achieve change like this. People can connect with others in their communities, unions or workplaces to help build this movement and start campaigning.

Friends of the Earth supports a network of local climate campaign groups – visit onefuture.ie/join to get involved and connect with others who are concerned about climate change in your local area. People can also join our mailing list at foe.ie for updates on climate action opportunities and educational events.