Members of the Coláiste Éinde Secondary School student council in Galway City call on the Irish government to follow through on their promise to listen to and help the young people of Ireland.  With COP26 currently taking place in Glasgow, now is the time to act and show climate action and leadership instead of climate talk, greenwashing and blah blah blah. Our Taoiseach has said there has been a “step change” since his government took office, however we are in need of something much bigger. We are in need of a giant leap and it must happen now.  

In recognition of the genuine concerns that the youth of this country have around the impact of climate change, we propose that the government would, plant a native tree for every school child in the Republic of Ireland, at a single site, creating a new national forest - 'Foraois na bPáistí'. By doing this, the government would send a clear message of their commitment to combating climate change.

We are asking junior minister of state, Pippa Hackett, to accept our proposal and through consultation with community stakeholders, allocate funds to the creation of the forest in a timely manner.

Native trees cover just 2% of land in this country, the lowest in the European Union. The government, through Coillte, own nearly one million acres of land or 7% of our land area. Trees are our best solution to the reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere. We need the growth of indigenous trees to spread throughout Ireland, in order to boost our biodiversity and to protect our unique eco-systems. Every year the world loses 10 million hectares of forestry. The UN reports that forest ecosystems are the largest terrestrial carbon sink, absorbing a massive 2 billion tons of CO2 each year.    
 
By doing this, the government would be acknowledging the need for action and would be working with, and promising a future for, the youth of Ireland. There are 823,000 students in primary and secondary level education in Ireland. These students are future voters and the leaders of tomorrow. It’s time to plant a future for Ireland and the planet. 
 
Our initiative has already been supported by politicians across the political spectrum and we have received assurances of getting cross-party support. 
 
This is not an impossible idea, nor a new one. As many may remember, as part of the Millennium project in 2000 a native tree was planted for every family in 16 sites across the country. ‘Foraois na bPáistí’ is a project which has the potential to represent the frequently ignored pleads of young people to take action to save our future. This can be done and done today. This is an easy win. Let's do it!