A chara, – The passage of Minister Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan’s Climate Action Bill is a positive signal in Ireland’s fight against climate change, and the Green Party is to be commended for its efforts.
However, the devil will be in the detail, which is scant right now. In particular, the pledge to reduce emissions by 51 per cent by 2030 seems ludicrous in its optimism. This is less than a decade away. There may be some projects in the planning stage already, but surely not enough to cut half our emissions? Let’s not fool ourselves. Becoming carbon-neutral by 2050 will be a mammoth undertaking, requiring decades of investment, new technologies and economic incentives.
I remain unconvinced, especially given the Green Party’s patchy record on emissions reduction. It is still opposed to nuclear power, which is by far the cleanest and safest source of electricity on a per-unit basis (admittedly, this is not an issue that could be solved by 2030, regardless of policy).
Wind and solar power have come a long way, and no doubt will become even more prevalent, but they are intermittent. We need zero-carbon base load capacity, or else large-scale energy storage.
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The Greens have a unique opportunity to make history here. They have made a bold statement with the passing of this Bill, but a statement is all that it is. The real work will be in the devilish detail and the inevitable compromises that that entails.
In the meantime, inspired by this Bill, I have decided that I will be a billionaire by 2050, with a net worth of at least €510 million by 2030. None of my peers has set such an ambitious target. It’s a challenge beyond compare, but one I am going to achieve. – Is mise,
DONNCHA LENIHAN,
Dublin 3.
Sir, – On the front page of your edition of March 24th, the article "Climate target most ambitious in world, says Ryan" reported the publication of the Government's Climate Action Bill as "the most ambitious legislation of its kind in any country yet, says the Government", in that it plans to enshrine in law a target to halve carbon emissions by 2030 and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
In the business section of the same date, its front page carried the article "Fossil fuel industry has received $3.8 trillion in funding since Paris climate accord".
How do our climate targets, which must include a radical reduction in fossil fuel dependency, sit in the face of such massive funding of the fossil fuel sector by global financial institutions? – Yours, etc,
IAN WOODS,
Swords,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – It’s difficult to take the Government’s Climate Action Bill seriously when Bord na Móna stops producing briquettes and moss peat, yet I can readily purchase imported replacements from other EU states. And as we restrict Irish agricultural output, we can import Brazilian beef, soya and palm oil produced on land created by the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
And the unfettered development of electricity guzzling data centres in Ireland continues apace. The power demand from data centres is approaching that of the total energy requirement for the city of Dublin. Electricity demand would be virtually static in the absence of these centres.
A bit of joined-up thinking might result in more public support for climate action and Mr Ryan’s ambitious targets. – Yours, etc,
TOMÁS FINN,
Ballinasloe,
Co Galway.