Ireland is uniquely positioned to lead on transformative climate justice but the incoming Government is proceeding with business as usual, writes Jennie Stephens, Professor of Climate Justice at ICARUS.

    Climate justice refers to a transformative approach to climate action that focuses on human rights, economic equity, human dignity and care. It goes beyond technological innovation like electric vehicles, wind power and solar panels to focus and prioritise social innovation, human well-being and ecological health rather than corporate profits.

    With the new Government voted into power in the Dáil, the draft Programme for Government is likely to become official. But once again, Ireland's unique potential for global leadership on climate justice is ignored by our political leaders. Instead, the programme adopts a business-as-usual, more-of-the-same, non-transformative approach to climate that simply recommits to striving to meet the already legally binding targets (cutting emissions by 51% by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050) without providing any specifics to explain how.

    This vague and uninspiring Programme for Government is disappointing, particularly because I see Ireland as uniquely positioned to be a global leader on climate justice policy. The Irish public are deeply concerned about the climate crisis, unlike in the United States where the fossil fuel industry lobby has successfully convinced many that climate change is a hoax.

    Irish society also has a strong cultural commitment to compassionate human rights, empathy, care and fairness. Ireland is also in the position of recent wealth accumulation coupled with a deep-rooted historical memory of injustice. The combination of these unique characteristics of Irish society position Ireland for transformative climate justice leadership and the potential for global influence disproportionate to its size.

    Given the myriad of interconnected critical issues facing Irish society in 2025, a transformative climate justice approach is essential for simultaneously addressing the urgent needs of Irish communities. From a climate justice perspective, the climate crisis is not a problem that needs to be fixed with technological solutions. Rather, climate change is one of the worst symptoms of a socio-economic system that is concentrating wealth and power and no longer serving the basic needs of most of society.

    Climate justice policy involves linking decarbonisation and emission reductions with transformative public investments in other critical areas, including our overburdened healthcare system and our inadequate privatised housing sector. Climate justice leadership in Ireland would also involve public investments in care work and other basic services as well structures to support local, regenerative and community-focused production of food, energy and other necessities.

    A focus on regenerative (instead of extractive) investments in people and communities is essential for improving wellbeing and restoring the ecological health and biodiversity of our land and water. But instead of demonstrating climate justice leadership, the new Programme for Government reflects an incoming administration on track to exacerbate health disparities, housing insecurity and poverty while worsening climate vulnerabilities and accelerating ecological decline.

    With Donald Trump back again in the White House and the United States pulling out, yet again, from the Paris Agreement, a transformative climate justice approach is more important now than ever. Humanity needs countries like Ireland to step up and demonstrate bold courageous climate justice leadership.

    As floods, heatwaves, fires and other climate disruptions become more frequent and intense around the world, now is not the time for the Irish Government to endorse half-hearted ambiguous efforts to reduce emissions while, at the same time, planning to increase data centres, grow dairy farming and expand aviation. These incongruous and incompatible parts of the Programme for Government are already fueling growing mistrust of government.

    As the climate crisis inevitably gets worse, it is increasingly clear that the narrow focus in the Programme for Government on gradual emission reductions in Ireland is not enough. In 2025, it is too late to keep peddling small incremental changes and vague emission reduction commitments while making claims to be addressing the climate crisis. Until and unless the Irish government commits to linking climate action with structural changes that meet the needs of marginalised and vulnerable communities instead of prioritising corporate interests, mistrust in government will grow, populism will rise and Irish democracy is likely to slide further down the slippery slope toward authoritarianism.

    What is desperately needed in Ireland now is bold courageous transformative leadership. The Government needs to reprioritise wellbeing for all instead of focusing narrowly on profits for the few. Although Ireland is uniquely positioned to lead on transformative climate justice, the new Irish government is proceeding with business as usual - squandering an opportunity to recommit to a regenerative Irish economy and to inspire others throughout the world to strive for a more just, healthy and stable future.

    This piece originally appeared on RTÉ Brainstorm