Leo Varadkar, Micheal Martin, and Eamon Ryan, the Minister for the Environment, will attend the UN General Assembly next week.

Global leaders will address the UN's sustainable development goals in light of worries that the 2030 deadline will be missed.

During the week, the UN will also hold a summit on climate ambition in New York.

Friends of the Earth arranged a protest on Sandymount Strand in Dublin before to the high-level meetings, with the tall chimneys of the Poolbeg power plant serving as the backdrop.

It was held as a part of a number of international celebrations honouring the Global Day Of Action to End Fossil Fuels.

Numerous organisations, including Trocaire, Christian Aid, Not Here Not Anywhere, Young Friends of the Earth, and Christian Blind Mission, supported the demonstration in Sandymount on Sunday afternoon.

Oisin Coghlan, CEO of Friends of the Earth, demanded a "fast, fair, and forever" end to Ireland's reliance on fossil fuels.

He declared, "The case for moving away from fossil fuels has never been clearer."

"Climate collapse has started, and we are already living in the era of "global boiling," as the UN secretary general just declared.

Ireland is a major contributor to the issue because the nation continues to be heavily dependent on expensive, environmentally damaging fossil fuels, and to make matters worse, the Government is still proposing further environmentally damaging gas infrastructure.

"We must demarcate a boundary. The moment to stop using fossil fuels is now, not in 20 years. "We also need government to reduce demand for fossil fuel energy," he continued.

"That entails establishing a deadline for the banning of new gas boilers in homes and businesses. We say 2028.

It entails putting a stop to the unchecked increase in gas demand that is being caused by the unchecked expansion of data centre electrical demand.

"Data centres are expected to absorb 30% of Ireland's electricity by 2030, which is almost twice as much as all rural houses together used in 2022. Less than 3% is the European average.

Additionally, it's critical that the government backs international efforts to phase out fossil fuels, particularly through a new treaty to stop the expansion of fossil fuels, in the lead-up to the COP28 UN climate summit.

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A passionate Irish journalist with a love for cycling, politics and of course Portugal especially their sausage rolls.

Rory Mc Ginn