Examiner Deal Irish — Is View: Optimistic Must Be Done We Cop28 And

Irish Examiner view: Cop28 deal is done — and we must be optimistic — Cop28 Summit Adnan Kamran Sultan Climate Amin United Stiell At A Cop28 Al Jaber Climate Plenary Nations Un Ceo During Simon Cop28 And Jebreili/ap Chief With Session Picture: President The

Thu, 14 Dec, 2023 - 02:00

As often happens with groundbreaking agreements and treaties, the Cop28 deal was eventually struck after
discussions went deep into the night.

Almost 200 countries at the UN climate change summit in Dubai came to an agreement on the need to get away from fossil fuel use in the future following lengthy negotiations.

In any other context, delegates would have been described as burning the midnight oil, but that phrase hardly seems appropriate here.

The agreement has rightly been described as historic. It is the first time that fossil fuel reduction has been mentioned as an objective in such an agreement, and on that basis alone, it deserves to be described as a source of optimism, a bold step forward.

However, it must also be acknowledged that the deal does not go far enough. Many observers and delegates were seeking the term “phasing out” included in the agreement when it came to oil, gas, and coal — a far more decisive and proactive expression — but in the end it was not.

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan was one of the EU’s lead negotiators at the summit and has said that the EU was willing to walk away if fossil fuel reduction was not part of the final agreement, but it looks like those countries which
remain dependent on fossil fuels retained the upper hand in negotiations.

In years to come, we may look back with astonishment at the power exerted by such countries, though in truth they have done little to hide their views. The president of the Cop28, Sultan al-Jaber, has claimed in the past that there is “no science” indicating that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed, for instance, while the BBC alleged that the United Arab Emirates planned to use its role as host to strike oil and gas deals.

For all that, the deal is now done, and represents progress. Individual responsibility for environmental choices has been a strong message in recent years, and now there is recognition of the need for change at national level. We must be optimistic about implementing change — there is no alternative.

Callous regard for VMware staff

It is almost four full decades since the city of Cork was struck with successive blows as Dunlop, Ford, and Verolme all shut down in quick succession, leaving thousands unemployed in an already difficult period in modern Irish history.

This week we learned that hundreds of jobs are to be lost at another major Cork employer; employees at the VMware cloud computing firm in Ballincollig were informed by letter this week that a total of 364 redundancies are proposed across the organisation.

At any time of the year this would be a shocking revelation, but informing employees of these plans two weeks before Christmas suggests a high level of insensitivity, if not outright callousness.

Hundreds of families now face a holiday period of doubt and uncertainty. VMware is not the only tech organisation to cut back after a hiring spree in recent months. Meta, Twitter, Stripe, and Dell have laid off workers from their Irish offices in the last year.

However, as recently as last year, VMware announced that it would be hiring a further 200 workers by 2025, the kind of declaration which is generally taken as a vote of confidence in a company and in its progress.

The loss of over 300 jobs will have implications for the locality in different ways: even Ballincollig will be affected by the removal of 364 pay packets from the local economy.

The first priority, however, must be providing those who received this bitter news with the full support of the State.
As they absorb the ramifications of VMware’s decision and make plans for what will hopefully be a better 2024, they deserve every aid and assistance possible.

Irish stars align for Golden Globes

Last week the Irish arts world rejoiced at the victory of Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song at the Booker Prize ceremony. Lynch was one of two Irish writers on the Booker shortlist (Paul Murray was the other) and their presence was taken as proof of general Irish excellence in modern fiction, a position for which there is plenty of supporting evidence.

Earlier this week, the Irish again caught the eye while dominating a competitive artistic category.

In this case it was Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) at the Golden Globes. Cork actor Cillian Murphy was nominated for his role as the lead in Oppenheimer, while Dubliner Barry Keoghan was nominated for his role as undergrad Oliver Quick in Saltburn. Another
Dubliner, Andrew Scott, was recognised for his performance in All Of Us Strangers, which also stars Kildare native Paul Mescal.

The good news for Ireland’s film industry doesn’t end there: Poor Things, which was produced by Ireland’s Element Pictures, has been nominated in multiple categories, including Best Picture, Musical, or Comedy, as well as getting a best actress nod for Emma Stone.

For the actors in particular, it is an immense achievement — the Irish nominations mean half of those in the running for this award are from this country, a stunning statistic.

It’s also an achievement bound to cause plenty of debate: Murphy, Keoghan, and Scott all have a large following, but Mescal’s fan base will no doubt question his omission from the shortlist in many a discussion to come.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

Irish Examiner view: Answers are needed on nuclear site