Irish people could end up as climate migrants in Europe should global warming continue, the country’s climate minister has claimed.
Eamon Ryan, of the Green Party, warned in The Irish Times on September 3 that changes to Atlantic Meridional Circulating System (AMOC) off the country’s coast could cause a dramatic drop in Irish average temperatures, in turn harming its environment. AMOC is a system of ocean currents that circulate water throughout the Atlantic Ocean.
Ryan cited a number of new studies — including one by Germany’s Potsdam Institute — which said that the AMOC stream could be turned off within the next few decades. This is compared to the previous scientific consensus, which believed it was unlikely the system would see significant changes within the 21st century.
We may have thought climate change would bring warmer weather to Ireland but not the extreme heat coming elsewhere. However the risk for us is the AMOC switch’s off and we end up with a very harsh, cold local environment, while the rest of the world burns. https://t.co/IWLyYN0bIq
— Eamon Ryan (@EamonRyan) September 3, 2024
“The data suggests that AMOC may switch off. If that were to happen it would bring about a dramatic drop in temperatures here, even as the rest of the world continues to burn,” he wrote in the Irish newspaper.
Ryan said the stream was responsible for his country having a relatively mild climate despite sharing the same latitude as icy Newfoundland in eastern Canada, adding that many of the benefits the island enjoys could be stripped away as the temperature drops.
As a consequence, he believes many Irish people could be forced to leave the island as migrants for the rest of Europe.
“I think most of us thought we wouldn’t have to face some of the hardships that other hotter places might have to endure. If these new studies are correct, we could be in the worst of all worlds,” he wrote.
“Rather than thinking how we manage climate refugees from the south, we might want to move south ourselves, out of the freezing cold.”
The minister went on to add that Ireland should use the potential crisis as another reason to pursue a “green” agenda aligned with his party, adding that Ireland’s recent progress in cutting emissions should be used to cajole other nations to do more.
“As our emissions start to fall we are also shaking off our reputation as climate laggards,” he said.
“We need to use our strong and credible voice in international climate negotiations to try to halt an AMOC collapse.”
Ireland has recorded its highest level of immigration since before the 2008 banking crash, the country’s Central Statistics Office has confirmed.
Read the full article ?? https://t.co/IjzNSYZhUY #immigration #immigrationpolicy #ireland pic.twitter.com/bbXNCeo7mS
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 28, 2024
