County Clare is vulnerable to increasingly severe climate events, including drought, flooding, high winds, and storm surges according to Clare County Council's Climate Adaptation Strategy 2019 - 2024. These events are likely to affect farming, transport, economic activity and day to day living and as such must be considered to be of major concern to the county. Equally, Clare Country Council has acknowledged the threat to biodiversity and our natural human dependence on maintaing both plant and animal biodiverisity to sustain our local communities (Clare Biodiversity Action Plan 2017-2023). However, the extent of the threat must be acknowledged by the council in order to educate the public and provide a detailed and coherent emergency response which matches the real urgency of the problems we are facing. Therefore, we are calling on Clare County Council to declare a climate and biodiversity emergency and to publish both a climate and biodiversity emergency action plan which details practical solutions to ensure that Clare is prepared for the likely effects that climate change will have over the coming years.

“It is clear that the nature and scale of the response to climate change will be the determining factor in shaping the health of nations for centuries to come.” - The Lancet Countdown 2018. Climate change has dire implications for human health; exposing vulnerable populations to extreme weather events, altering patterns of infectious diseases, aggravating risks to mental health, and compromising food security, safe drinking water and clean air. Responding to this threat is a responsibility of the health profession. Irish Doctors for the Environment are joining the Global Climate Strike on September 20th to support the students in "calling for urgent action to prevent climate breakdown and ensure a just and sustainable future". A full list of the students' demands is available here: https://www.schoolsclimateaction.ie/ IDE are encouraging Irish health professionals and clinicians who cannot make it to the strike on September 20th to show their support for the cause by signing and sharing this petition.

The use of plastic straws is unnecessary and inexcusable. The dramatic effect they have on ocean wildlife is disgusting and harmful. Plastic straws need to be banned

Plastic waste is causing serious damage to our environment. Water dispensers would significantly cut down on plastic bottle use.

Bird Habitat is the last remaining natural area in Ennis town, and it is the center of attraction for our local community. The river bend in the center of town hosts various Birds, including; the Canadian geese and Greylag goose that have mixed with the Local Domestic goose, they are an affectionately viewed by us 'Ennis-eans' and passers by enjoy the entertaining display of the Mute Swans, Herons and Mallard ducks. We want our appreciation of nature as an inheritance for our future generation. Not only that, the Birds on the river Fergus enhance town's tourists attraction and are a center of interest for local business. Feeding the birds are a relaxing activity from the stress, and a quite time out for kids and parents on their way to and from the buzz of life.

Mining is a threat to the health and well being of the natural environment and that of the local community. Mining is a process that is hugely destructive to land, water and air and to all who require these for their continued healthy existence. In this era of Climate Emergency and rapid species loss the granting of licenses to prospect is very much a step in the wrong direction. It is at odds with the responsibilities of this government at this crucial time for the planet and all that live in it.

Last year, Electric Picnic revellers left behind 550 tonnes of rubbish (10kg per person), including tents, sleeping bags, headphones, and clothes in Stradbally, Co Laois. Each year, this mess is headline news at the end of the festival, yet the organisers (Festival Republic) do nothing to address the problem and continue to add more tickets year on year, making the problem worse over time. It's time to take a stand against these irresponsible practices and demand that Festival Republic do more to reverse the culture that encourages festival goers to trash our beautiful countryside at their events. Let's ask Festival Republic to have some rules about waste at Electric Picnic this year.

Technology in the automotive industry has reached a turning point - access to battery electric vehicles is better than ever and improving constantly. However, the automotive industry continues to profit from the burning of fossil fuels. Only a drastic change such as this, creating the largest market for zero-emissions vehicles in the world, can force them to innovate and compete to bring the cost of this technology down. Exemptions of limited duration should be made only for specialist vehicles.

For over 150 years Greystones harbour and marina have been used by local fishermen. Their livelihoods are now under threat as Wicklow County Council are attempting to get rid of the local fishing workers. The local fishermen have been there a long time and are a part of traditional Greystones. We should be trying to protect these traditions rather than exile them.

Nature fully supports not just human life, but all life on the mother being planet that we call earth. It is now that we must show solidarity & support her, before it’s too late. Now is the moment to take action. Now is the moment to recognize nature in our constitution, just as we recognize our brothers & sisters. We welcome this reestablishment with our direct environment, as it is beyond crucial to life on earth.

Because they are 1. Cutting down palm trees 2. kicking people off their land to farm palm oil 3. Killing the animals in the rainforest 4. Destroying the biodiversity of the rainforests

The impact of the daily load of 4million litres of fat oil and grease solution on the harbour it’s nature reserves and it’s ecosystem has not been adequately investigated or modelled. The pipe line is simply the shortest route to the sea from the factory. There are other options such as putting the discharge point way out to sea using the Ballycotton gas pipeline. The cheapest solution is rarely the best solution.