A 23 year-old man and a 26-year-old woman were due to before a sitting of the Mullingar District court today charged in connection with offences allegedly committed at a peat burning power plant in Longford.
Environmental activists, who object to the use of peat by Bord na Móna and the ESB, locked themselves to the gates at Lanesborough peat burning power plant while another group entered the plant and carried out a banner drop on one of the buildings which read “Give Peat a Chance.”
Activists claimed their action forced the closure of the peat plant for the day.
Gardaí arrested two people during the protest.
Gerald Glynn, a spokesperson for Climate Camp said, “We took this peaceful direct action to highlight the urgency of climate justice issues. Our bogs are our rainforests and we need to protect them. We can’t wait for our governments to act. Let’s give peat a chance now.”
A Spokesman for Bord na Mona told The Irish Times yesterday it had pledged not to open any new bogs. “We are trialling biomass replacements, not opening any new bogs, rehabilitating old bogs and converting to eco-tourism like Boora or giving back to local communities like Abbeyleix in Co. Laois,” he said.
Bord na Mona are conducting extensive research into the use of wind energy and biomass products. “The ESB and Bord na Mona are looking at the gradual replacement of peat with biomass. Ultimately we are moving away from peat,” remarked the Spokesman.
In the future, “more use will be made of wind energy as we are lucky that some lands are in windy places. We are also using green waste from our waste division as a replacer for peat in peat moss,” he concluded.