The Irish Times opinion piece, on Climate, 10 November 2026

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Photograph captures the human reality of climate change

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Sir, – The photograph accompanying Caroline O’Doherty’s report on Cop31 (“ Climate extremes ‘off the charts’ as countries gather for Cop31 summit ”, Climate crisis, November 9th), showing people navigating a flooded cemetery in the Philippines , somehow captures the human reality of climate change more powerfully than statistics. We speak of climate change as a threat to future generations, yet here it is disrupting even the places where past generations are remembered.

Most importantly, homes and livelihoods are at risk; but so too are culture, memory and belonging. This photograph captures that in a frightening way. As world leaders gather for Cop31 , the people in this photograph cannot wait for another round of promises. Climate justice demands that those most responsible for the crisis bear their fair share of the cost of addressing it and understand how and why they should do so. – Yours, etc, GERTRUDE COTTER, Lecturer, Global Justice Education, School of Education, UCC.

Read the original article on irishtimes.com (opens in a new tab)
About this analysis

This is a reader's letter to The Irish Times. It responds to a photograph of people moving through a flooded cemetery in the Philippines and argues that those most responsible for the climate crisis should bear their share of the cost. It makes no false claim about the science or policy, its figures are absent, and its headline matches what the letter says, so nothing in it misleads the reader.

Opinion piece: read for false claims of fact and for fairness to the people it names, not for its opinions.

What it gets right

  • “Caroline O’Doherty’s report on Cop31 (“ Climate extremes ‘off the charts’ as countries gather for Cop31 summit ”, Climate crisis, November 9th)”

    The letter names the report and photograph it responds to, with the correct title and date of the earlier Irish Times article, so a reader can check the source.

  • “We speak of climate change as a threat to future generations, yet here it is disrupting even the places where past generations are remembered.”

    The writer treats climate change as a present reality affecting people now, consistent with the documented record, without making any catalogued overstatement.

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