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20 years to save Earth from climate change: Robinson

FORMER president Mary Robinson has predicted that world leaders have "at most" just two decades to save the planet from the devastating effects of climate change.

The human rights campaigner and head of the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Change, was speaking after a UN report called for a major shift in policy and practices to prevent catastrophic consequences from global warming.

Ms Robinson yesterday said not enough was being done to tackle the rising level of greenhouse gases.

"We cannot have business as usual. We have to act and action has to be transformative. And we have to move very rapidly to renewables," she said.

Mrs Robinson, pictured, said there was "no question" that climate change was occurring, with the impact already being felt in terms of food and health in developing countries.

"Those who have done least to cause the problem are among the most vulnerable. They are hurting already," she said.

The former president said that change was "very do-able" and she called for a "real conversation" about renewable energy sources.

"We only have, at most, two decades to save the world. Let's get into that mindset. We [must] start with good, sustainable development goals next year and a robust and fair climate agreement by the end of 2015," she said.

Expressing her support for "clean, renewable energy", Ms Robinson said: "We have to get back to under-standing that we are bad stewards at the moment of Mother Earth herself and she is protesting."

"This is so serious that it should be on top of the agenda of political figures but also the business community."

Separately, the Republic's energy minister Pat Rabbitte blamed Britain's "domestic energy debate" for the collapse of a deal for the Republic to export wind energy across the Irish Sea.

He said that as British politicians became immersed in a "pretty ferocious debate" over energy policy their interest in the agreement had "waned" in recent months, leading to the scrapping of plans for large-scale wind farms in the midlands.

However, Mr Rabbitte stressed that there was "no diminution or reduction" in the Irish government's commitment to renewables for the domestic market.

"This country has to take its responsibility and continue to decarbonise the energy system and indeed decarbonise our society," he said.

Speaking in Luxembourg, Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore expressed his belief that there would be increased energy trade for the state with Britain and the rest of Europe after 2020.

Meanwhile, a group which says its aim is to "reform the Irish government's unsustainable wind energy policy" said it concurred with the UN report on climate change.

However, Wind Aware Ireland claimed the government's focus on wind energy had "diverted resources from finding meaningful solutions to the global warming problem" and that wind energy was "incapable of reducing Co2 in any significant way".