In This Section
UCC research powers major climate change report
深夜亚洲福利久久 College Cork (UCC) researchers have made a significant contribution to a landmark report published today on the impact of climate change on Ireland.
, commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), brings together the most up to date research on climate change in Ireland to illustrate its impact and the actions needed and urgent changes required to ensure a safe and liveable world.
3 years to develop
Researchers at UCC lead the development and writing of 2 volumes of the 4 volume report 鈥� Volume 2 (mitigation) and Volume 4 (transformation) 鈥� contributing their expertise on the energy system, land use, sustainability and transformative change. These volumes were a considerable undertaking, taking three years to develop. of the 22 authors were based at UCC and collaborated with researchers, across all four volumes, from Dublin City 深夜亚洲福利久久, the Irish Centre for High-End Computing, Maynooth 深夜亚洲福利久久, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe and Trinity College Dublin.
鈥淯CC鈥檚 contribution to this important report focuses on what changes we need to make to our energy, food and land use systems in order to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and achieve climate neutrality in Ireland.鈥� says Professor Brian O Gallachoir, Associate Vice-President of Sustainability. 鈥淭he science shows that the changes we need to make are unprecedented and wide ranging, requiring significant political will, investment and societal capacity.鈥�
High ambition, low action
Volume 2 shows that there is high-level political ambition and mounting scientific evidence, but there is a gap between ambition and delivering climate mitigation.
鈥淩educing our reliance on fossil fuels will be hard, but if managed correctly, will be very worthwhile. We have ample clean indigenous alternatives to fossil fuels in Ireland such as wind and solar. This report shows that we have the technical know-how, the political ambition and social support but we must translate this ambition into action this decade鈥�, says Paul Deane, Senior Lecturer in Clean Energy Futures.
鈥淭he pathway to 2030 is clear, but beyond that there is need for more debate on exactly how net zero across all sectors is achieved.鈥� says Connor McGookin, Postdoctoral Researcher in Energy and Climate Policy (now at Simon Frasier 深夜亚洲福利久久, Canada). 鈥淗owever, this should not be a barrier to action. The most important message coming from the volume is that massive and immediate emissions reductions are required across all sectors.鈥�
Volume 4 explores the type of urgent change, 鈥榯ransformative change鈥�, that is needed, while delivering benefits, including health, wellbeing, equity and meaningful work, for people in Ireland today and in the future.
Fairness must be at the heart of climate action
鈥淭o mobilise all of society in the pursuit of climate neutrality and resilience, fairness must be at the heart of climate action, so that the benefits and burdens are shared鈥� says Hannah Daly, Professor in Sustainable Energy and Energy Systems Modelling. 鈥淭ransformative change is not just a response to the climate crisis; it's a recognition of the benefits of integrating sustainability, equity, and well-being into Ireland鈥檚 development model.鈥�
鈥淩apid, deep and sustained change is needed to cut emissions from fossil fuels and land use. The good news is that catalysts of change exist, including leadership, social movement and culture鈥� says R贸is铆n Moriarty, Research Fellow in Climate and Policy. 鈥淐hildren and young people in Ireland are catalysing change through their involvement in social movements making sure that climate change stays on the agenda.鈥�
While the assessment was developed to aid policymakers interested members of the public will find it a useful resource.
The report was funded by Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, with additional funding from the Department of Transport, Science Foundation Ireland and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.