We are publishing the following letter, recently received from an activist with the Revolutionary Communists of Ireland and a reader of The Revolutionary Communist. The letter, written in the wake of the disaster provoked by Storm Éowyn, highlights the catastrophic impact climate change will have on communities all across Ireland. We welcome letters and reports from our regular readers and supporters. Submissions can be sent to revcommunistsireland@gmail.com for publication on our website or in our paper.
As sea levels rise and storms grow in strength, Ireland’s coastal cities are becoming sitting ducks for disaster. A recent article in The Irish Times laid out in detail just how vulnerable urban centres like Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Galway are to extreme weather events. When Storm Éowyn hit, it triggered the highest storm surges ever recorded in the country.
This is not just an unlucky one-off. It’s a warning sign of what’s to come. Ireland’s position on the edge of the Atlantic makes it especially vulnerable to worsening storm activity and rising seas, and much of its population is concentrated in low-lying urban areas. The geography is unforgiving, and the climate trajectory is grim.
The Irish government has, albeit far too late, acknowledged these risks. But the gap between recognition and action is massive. This brings us to the central point: the climate crisis is not just an environmental problem. It is a political and economic one.
Capitalism makes it impossible for us to ‘fix’ the climate. Only with a planned, workers-controlled democratic economy where all industries and corners of production are included in the same united plan can we radically shift production in the way needed to solve the climate crisis.
