Members of Centenary Girl Guides in Dundrum, South Dublin, feel so strongly about the need for decisive action to be taken by world leaders at the COP21 UN Climate Summit taking place last week and this week that they wrote to Irish politicians urging them to bring a strong message to Paris.

The Guides were pleased to receive letters of acknowledgement from An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and An Tánaiste Joan Burton and a personal letter from Olivia Mitchell TD. They were even more delighted when Alex White, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, replied saying he would like to meet them to hear their views before he left for COP21 on 6th December.

Naturally, they said yes! And so he met with them on Friday evening (4th December) where he answered some of their questions and watched a video they had made urging world leaders to take the necessary steps to ensure a greener future for everyone (this video can be seen on Irish Girl Guides’ You Tube channel).

The Guides, who are aged 10-12, told the Minister that, together with the 10 million members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) representing 146 countries, they were demanding action on climate change before it was too late. They want leaders to agree to a maximum rise in global temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Following the meeting, Fiona Murdoch, Communications Officer for Irish Girl Guides, asked three of the girls – Kate Mulcahy, Aine Caffrey and Louise O’Reilly – if they were worried about climate change …

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