Environmentalists marched through central Dublin today calling on the Government to slash carbon emissions by toughening legislation.
Today is the Global Day of Action on Climate Change and hundreds of events are taking place throughout the world.
The Dublin march - Public Parade for the Planet - organised by Stop Climate Chaos coincided with the ringing of bells in cathedrals across the country.
Several hundred marchers gathered at the Dublin Civil Offices before proceeding to the Department of the Environment offices on Custom House Quay.
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan, who joined the parade on a bicycle, addressed the crowd at the Customs House.
The Green Party minister said tackling climate change is the biggest test in the history of mankind.
"This is time for political leadership but it is not a cause that belongs to any one political party or ideology. This is not an ideology - it is an emergency," he said. "Our response has to be collective and consistent. We must enter into a thirty-year campaign that is outside any electoral cycle or balance sheet calculation."
The Minister warned that many people were unaware of the dangers caused by climate change.
"They need to be woken up - not just to change a light bulb, although that is start. They need to stand up and be a part of the greatest shift in the collective consciousness that mankind will ever make - a shift that will affect ever aspect of our lives."