Marking the launch of Trinity’s new Climate Gateway, Professor Karen Wiltshire issues a powerful call to action:

“This is no longer about whether climate change is real. It’s about how we adapt and how we mitigate — decisively, collectively, and intelligently.”

By Professor Karen Wiltshire

For more than thirty years, I have watched the planet warm — not through headlines or politics, but through data. Year after year, the evidence has only grown stronger. My colleagues and I have traced rising CO₂ levels in Antarctic ice cores, observed ice caps retreat, permafrost thaw, ecosystems shift, and species disappear. Every working day has been a front-row seat to a planet in rapid transformation.

As a scientist, I have had both the privilege and the burden of witnessing this crisis unfold through careful measurement and peer-reviewed evidence. As a mother, I have watched my children and their generation march in the streets, demanding a liveable future. They are right to fight — the data is irrefutable: the planet is warming, and it is happening fast.

Some still argue that Earth has always experienced natural climate shifts. That may be true, but it misses the point. Never in human history have we been so numerous, so settled, and so dependent on stable coastlines, fertile soils, and predictable weather. When the last Ice Age ended between 20,000 and 12,000 years ago, humanity consisted of small, mobile groups who could follow the changing climate.

Today, we are eight billion people rooted in cities, economies, and nations that cannot simply move as the climate shifts beneath us. Small island nations are already disappearing beneath the sea, and ecosystems are faltering under stress. No amount of wealth or denial will shield anyone from what lies ahead: a hotter, more volatile world.

Yet it’s understandable that many people feel weary of the constant warnings and alarm. The apocalyptic tone that often dominates the conversation can leave us feeling helpless.

But the truth is: we are not helpless.

In fact, surveys show strong public support for climate action. According to the EPA’s 2024 Climate Change in the Irish Mind survey,

  • 81% of people in Ireland are worried about climate change,

  • 75% believe extreme weather poses a moderate or high risk to their community within the next decade, and

  • 79% say it should be a “very high” or “high” priority for government.

This is encouraging news. It shows that people care deeply — and that Ireland is ready to act.

We must move beyond catastrophising and start implementing solutions. The diagnosis is clear, the data is solid, and the technologies exist. The question is no longer whether climate change is real — it’s how we respond, together and with intent.

Climate migration is no longer a future concern; it’s a present reality. Millions are already being displaced by heat, storms, droughts, and rising seas. The debate over whether to accept climate refugees overlooks a crucial fact: many of these people would still have homes if global emissions had been curbed sooner. Our response must be guided by compassion, responsibility, and foresight.

We have extraordinary tools at our disposal — renewable energy, ecological restoration, sustainable agriculture, and innovative engineering. And we have decades of global collaboration through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has provided the most comprehensive scientific understanding of our planet ever assembled.

We know what is happening. We know what it threatens — our ecosystems, societies, and sense of security.

Ireland, like every nation, must prepare for drought, stronger storms, and rising seas. But that is not cause for despair. We are a creative and resilient people. Across the country — from Dublin to coastal towns like Dingle, home of the Dingle Hub — communities are already taking practical steps toward sustainability and adaptation.

This is what we need to amplify: local action, collaboration, and innovation.

And to settle one persistent myth — the Gulf Stream is not going to stop overnight. It is largely driven by wind and Earth’s rotation. Even if melting polar ice affects it centuries from now, any changes will be gradual. Some cooling in ocean currents may even moderate extreme warming in this region.

The point is not to frighten ourselves — it is to act, wisely and decisively. The science has spoken with clarity for decades. Now it is up to society to listen, mobilise, and build a future defined not by fear, but by courage and ingenuity.

Because we can do this. We have the knowledge, the tools, and — if we choose it — the collective will.

At Trinity College Dublin, we are determined to lead by example. Our new Climate Gateway brings together the university’s climate research, education, and innovation in one central hub — a space to connect science with action.

We cannot afford to stand by. It is time to move forward — together.

Professor Karen Wiltshire
Professor of Climate Science, Trinity College Dublin
Director, Trinity Climate Gateway

Learn more: https://www.tcd.ie/climate-gateway/