Environmental conference: Golf links in exposed positions on the west coast are likely to be among the early casualties of climate change in Ireland, according to an expert on the local impacts of this global phenomenon.
Dr John Sweeney, lecturer in geography at NUI Maynooth, said yesterday that low-lying areas in Dublin, such as Ringsend and Drumcondra, would be flooded more frequently as sea levels rise.
Dr Sweeney, one of the principal authors of a major report on the impact of climate change in Ireland, said more severe storms could undermine the railway line at Killiney, requiring it to be moved back yet again.
Interviewed on RTÉ radio yesterday, he also singled out the Shannon estuary as another area vulnerable to storm surges from the Atlantic. "We will have to roll with the tide - literally - in these areas," he said.
Dr Sweeney, who is speaking today at a major international conference in Dublin organised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said such disasters "may well change public opinion overnight" on climate change.
Referring to the potential threat to golf links such as Doonbeg, Co Clare, he said: "Many golf courses in the west of Ireland may not have the longevity that was projected for them when they were originally planned." He cautioned that protecting rural areas from coastal erosion could not be defended economically. Only high-value urban areas, such as the parts of Dublin subject to regular flooding, would be protected.
There would also be "a lot more competition" for water in Ireland, with the north and west getting 10 times the amount of rainfall of the south and east. This raised questions about "where we're going to put the people".
Ms Catherine Day, head of the European Commission's environment directorate, said people throughout the EU would expect their governments to protect them against the impact of extreme weather events.
Ms Day, who chaired the opening session of the conference yesterday, said: "We have to deliver on our fine words and fine speeches, and take action to deal with climate change at European level by working together."
Though industry had mixed views on the issue, she pointed to a joint statement this week by 10 of the world's leading companies, including BP and DuPont, which "came out very strongly" in support of taking action on global warming.
Before action could be taken on protecting the environment, it was "vital that we are armed with the fullest and most accurate information possible", she said.
"The gap between an identifiable threat, information and action needs to be bridged. Since we know that climate change is happening, and that it's going to get worse if we don't take some corrective action, all we're doing is pushing away - for very short-term reasons - a much bigger bill in the future," Ms Day warned.
"With the \ Sixth Environment Action Programme setting priorities in climate change, nature and biodiversity, environment and health, and resources and waste, there is plenty for us to do," she said.
"Hopefully, at the end of our deliberations, we will have streamlined the way in which we can communicate our message to the Council of Ministers, and national governments, so that real and determined action will result."
Ms Barbara Young, chief executive of the Environment Agency for England and Wales, said everyone needed to "learn lessons about how effective our policies really are" from 30 years of European environmental policy-making.
