The young people also want government to stop funding fossil fuels and pay farmers to be more sustainable
The final 2023 report has been fed back to government (Image: Ireland’s National Youth Assembly on Climate)
Ireland’s National Youth Assembly on Climate has called for a tax on fast fashion with the revenue raised used to make sustainable clothing more affordable.
The recommendation is among a series of key asks from 50 12 to 24-year-olds from across the country.
They also want the government to stop investing in fossil fuels and associated infrastructure and instead put their money into renewables with a 100 per cent green energy target by 2035.
Read more: Half a tonne of clothes dumped in landfill across Ireland every minute
Other proposals include reduced public transport prices and increased routes between cities, towns and in rural areas; a structured climate education programme for all ages as well as “increased support” for farmers to be more sustainable.
NYAC 2023 convened on March 11 at DCEDIY in Dublin where they voted on key themes from the 2022 report and chose to focus on sustainable transport, circular economy, communication, fossil fuels and farming.
Environment, Climate and Communications Minister, Eamon Ryan, and Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, have welcomed their report which will feed into the 2024 Climate Action Plan.
Minister Ryan said: “Climate change is our biggest challenge and it is vital we give young people a voice in how we shape our carbon neutral, sustainable future.
“The delegates at the National Youth Assembly on Climate are eager to play their part in ensuring Ireland’s transition to a cleaner greener future and I thank them for their efforts in making these recommendations, which will be considered as part of the Climate Action Plan 2024.”
Assembly delegates identified the lack of safe, protected and well maintained walking and cycle lanes in rural and urban areas.
Solutions included investment in, and maintenance of, walking and cycle routes, bike to work and to school schemes, while taking into account motor traffic.
They decided congestion charges are unfair when people have no alternative options for transport and said good public transport should be in place before such penalties are applied.
They also called for major improvements to the grid as well as more EV charging points for electric vehicles and lower prices for both EVs and chargers to make the option more sustainable.
Delegates voted on the final recommendations for the government.
Minister O’Gorman added: “This report is an important record of the views of young people in this country on how we can address the impacts of climate change.
“I look forward to working with Minister Ryan in ensuring that the recommendations of the National Youth Assembly on Climate 2023 can feed into Government Policy on such an important issue.”
We previously reported as part of our Reach for Zero campaign how the fashion industry is the second biggest polluter in the world – after big oil.
While half a tonne of unwanted clothes are dumped in landfills across Ireland every minute with just one white cotton shirt producing more emissions than going for a 56km drive, according to Oxfam.
Businesses across the country are already helping people breathe new life into old clothes through repair shops and second hand shops while new brands that only use sustainable materials are finally gaining popularity.
Ireland Circular Economy Bill was signed into law by President Michael D Higgins last year.
It tasks the government with setting out targets for the textile, retail and packaging sectors among others.
A DECC spokesperson says: “Work is underway to set targets that will help make the textile, retail and packaging sectors more sustainable. This includes targets to reduce the amount of material in things that we buy in the first place, to increase the use of re-usable products, to boost repairs and levels of re-use, and to improve maintenance – so that we get more time out of the products we purchase.
“An analysis of the respective resource consumption of the major economic sectors is needed – to inform the targets in the next version of the strategy. This work is underway now. “Once drafted, the strategy will be subject to a public consultation before being submitted for Government approval.”
By Shauna Corr Environment Correspondent
More here: https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/irelands-national-youth-assembly-climate-30860050