What does climate change mean for the fight against global poverty?

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Speech at the Comhlamh Bewley's debate October 2006

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Speech by Oisín Coghlan, Director of Friends of the Earth, at the Comhlámh Debate on "Development and Climate Change: Will growth end poverty or the planet?" on Wednesday 4th Ocotber 2006.

The paper makes three main points:

1. The threat of runaway climate change is one of the greatest threats to the fight against global poverty.

2. If we try to make poverty history using the current Western model of economic growth it will lead to catastrophic climate change.

3. Only a paradigm shift in our economic thinking can prevent climate chaos, which would exacerbate global poverty and undermine Irish, and Western, prosperity.

The other speaker was Neil Alldred from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Global Solidarity Project.

Comhlamh runs a series of "First Wednesday" debates in Bewleys, Grafton Street, Dublin. Click for more info.