‘We need a radical change’

A testimonial from Antoinette Rickard, who has very generously bequeathed a gift for us in her Will

Antoinette Rickard vividly remembers listening to her ecologically-minded grandfather talking about the climate crisis as a child, and how he used to worry that things would go awry in the face of inaction. And that was as far as back in the 1950s, she points out. “The Earth is going to hell in a handcart and unless something really drastic is done, it’s not going to help,” she tells us over a call. 

Antoinette has, for one, already ensured she has taken action to help address the climate crisis and protect the environment into the future by including a legacy gift in her Will to Friends of the Earth.

At Friends of the Earth, we believe that investing in a better future through legacy gifts in a Will is an impactful way to act for change. In facing the climate crisis, we, as a climate campaigning organisation, need to be robust, resilient and capable to take on immense challenges, to be brave enough to push for bold action and change both today and long into the future. 

Having a strong and reliable financial base is indispensable in achieving this, to keep us going for as long as we are needed—and this financial base needs to be majorly people powered, free of corporate or government agendas. Our supporter income is the bedrock of our independence, and legacy gifts, such as those generously bequeathed by Antoinette, add so much power to this. 

We need a radical change to tackle the climate crisis, she tells us as we talk about her generous legacy gift to us. “What I would love to see in the world is less greed, I suppose,” she says. And it’s always the poorest communities too that suffer the most from the climate crisis, she laments. 

On the kind of changes she envisions, she spoke about the need for education and awareness about the climate crisis, which also drives home the need for action. The detrimental impacts of car-dependency and pollution levels are some of the other environmental issues she is concerned about. 

Greta Thunberg’s activism and the school strikes are some other aspects of the climate movement she talked about. “There's nothing like the kids putting pressure on parents to be doing the right things and parents, because they want to do the right thing for the kids.” 

Counteracting the forces of climate denialism and misinformation is another change Antoinette wishes to see. Politicians who are climate deniers should be challenged by people, she said. “If you get politicians who are deniers, they should be challenged by the people…I mean, we have some of them in our own Government, in our own Dáil, who are saying things like ‘it's only God who's in charge and it's up to him what happens’. You know, we know that is a load of rubbish,” she says wryly. Challenging the Government and piling pressure on them to prioritise climate action is vital, she emphasises.

This is a core focus for us at Friends of the Earth—we focus on building the movement power and collective action needed to hold governments and corporations to account for the damage and climate chaos they are causing.

Finally, for anyone keen on leaving a legacy gift for Friends of the Earth but are doubtful about the practical steps involved, Antoinette has simple advice—get a solicitor, and the rest will fall in place. 

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