There is a growing gap between what governments say about tackling the climate crisis and their actions and voting records. Young people are right to call out that contradiction.
Next generation panel of ‘Climate Judges’ declare Ireland ‘climate hypocrites’
This stunt was organised by the Stop Climate Chaos coalition of over 40 environmental, development, youth, community, social, and faith-based organisations.
As EU Energy Ministers gather in Dublin this week (September 28th), young campaigners staged a mock court on Mount Street, delivering a verdict on Ireland's climate record on behalf of future generations.
The young ‘Climate Judges’ listed charges related to Ireland’s lack of climate action as it prioritises energy-hungry data centres and the introduction of new LNG gas terminals.
This stunt was organised by the Stop Climate Chaos coalition of over 40 environmental, development, youth, community, social, and faith-based organisations.
As Ireland prepares to host talks for EU Energy Ministers, young people challenged the Government's credibility on climate leadership, declaring Ireland guilty of "climate hypocrisy" in a symbolic court hearing in Dublin.
With Ireland at the centre of the talks, Stop Climate Chaos’ panel of next generation ‘Climate Judges’ have shared a declaration for the people of Ireland and the EU. With the evidence before the Future Generations Climate Judges, Ireland’s young people declare the verdict that Ireland are ‘Climate Hypocrites’.
Photography by Mark Stedman.
Charge 1: Putting the profits of Big tech ahead of our future. Guilty!
Charge 2: Supporting fossil fuel companies while households face soaring energy bills. Guilty!
Charge 3: Expanding fossil fuel infrastructure instead of phasing it out. Guilty!
In March 2025, the Government approved the development of a state-owned LNG terminal to facilitate the import of expensive and polluting fracked gas. In the midst of a climate emergency the move to introduce a new fossil fuel energy source to the domestic energy mix is counter to sense and science. It would further ensure the locking in of fossil fuel dependence.
Ireland is also attempting to get out of its regulatory responsibilities by building loopholes to circumvent the climate law, while expanding data centres use 23% of Ireland’s total electricity demand. This is prioritising tech-billionaires and corporate interests over communities; resulting in the delay of building houses, adding €360 to the average household’s bills, and continuing to guzzle water during water restrictions this summer.
Stop Climate Chaos says the Government must shift to an electricity system that delivers clean, affordable energy for people. Policy inaction has allowed new demand from data centre developments to outstrip renewable supply.
"There is a growing gap between what governments say about tackling the climate crisis and their actions and voting records. Young people are right to call out that contradiction. At a time when Europe needs ambitious leadership on climate action, Ireland cannot claim to be leading the transition while approving new fossil fuel infrastructure and prioritising energy policies that benefit powerful corporate interests over ordinary people. Future generations deserve better."
— Jim Clarken, Oxfam Ireland CEO
Helen Shaw, Chair of An Taisce Climate Committee, said: “Ireland's ambition to fail on climate means Ireland is deepening our fossil fuel dependency, failing to lead on decarbonisation, and sacrificing the next generation's future. The reality is Ireland has the highest energy costs in Europe while providing billions of euro worth of discounts to fossil fuel companies through subsidies. Ireland is permitting data centres to expand through fossil fuel generation while new homes are still being built without renewable energy - like solar panels - included. How can Ireland lead negotiations on phasing out fossil fuels when its own actions are enabling them?”
Ciara Brennan, Director, Environmental Justice Network Ireland (EJNI), said: “Every year of delay is a cost passed on to future generations. The continued delay in publishing Ireland's Social Climate Plan - the very mechanism designed to protect low income and vulnerable households from rising carbon costs - is a clear sign of that gap widening. Ireland's Presidency has given it a prominent platform to steer EU discussions on energy and climate, but that visibility only sharpens the contrast with its record at home. Ireland should be championing a just and accountable transition, both domestically and across the island.”
“Ireland’s climate hypocrisy could not be clearer, and the impacts are far from abstract. While facing dire shortfalls on national and EU climate obligations, Ireland is barrelling further in the wrong direction by pursuing LNG that would see us locked into fossil fuels for decades to come. Ireland’s climate action failures are actively contributing to escalating human rights harms globally. Around the world people are losing their lives, their homes, their livelihoods, their communities, and their ancestral lands because of the climate crisis. We owe current and future generations everywhere a safe planet, and our human rights obligations demand it.”
Jennie Stephens, Climate Justice Universities Union added: “Climate justice includes intergenerational justice, and young people are angry at the hypocrisy.”
EU Energy Ministers will include discussions on energy transition and energy policy in advance of formal meetings on electrification and decarbonisation in transport.
Stop Climate Chaos (SCC) is a coalition of over 40 civil society organisations campaigning to ensure Ireland does its fair share to tackle the causes and consequences of climate change. Launched in 2007, it is the largest network of civil society organisations campaigning for action on climate change in Ireland.
Earlier this month, as the Dáil returned from Summer recess, Stop Climate Chaos published a new report (link) entitled ‘Ending Fossil Power’ which calls out Ireland as failing in its legal obligation to cut emissions at the pace and scale needed. Climate Minister Darragh O’Brien has still not produced a long-overdue updated Climate Action Plan to address this.
Stop Climate Chaos members are: AMLÉ, Action Aid, Afri, An Taisce, BirdWatch Ireland, CBM, Children's Rights Over Flights, Christian Aid, Climate Justice Universities Union, Comhlámh, Concern, Congregation of Dominican Sisters Cabra, Cultivate, Dublin Friends of the Earth, Eco Congregation Ireland, ECO-UNESCO, EJNI, Fairseas Ireland, Feasta, Friends of the Earth, Friends of the Irish Environment, Good Energies Alliance Ireland, Irish Cycling Campaign, Irish Development Education Association, Irish Second-Level Students' Union, Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, Just Forests, Le Chéile, Latin America Solidarity Centre, Methodist Church of Ireland- Council of Social Responsibility, National Youth Council of Ireland, National Women's Council, Oxfam Ireland, Opportunity Green, Presentation Ireland, Save the Children, STAND, Trócaire, V.O.I.C.E., Vita, World Vision.
"There is a growing gap between what governments say about tackling the climate crisis and their actions and voting records. Young people are right to call out that contradiction. At a time when Europe needs ambitious leadership on climate action, Ireland cannot claim to be leading the transition while approving new fossil fuel infrastructure and prioritising energy policies that benefit powerful corporate interests over ordinary people. Future generations deserve better."
