Environment

November 2022

Gallery

Don’t give children e-scooters for Christmas, gardaí plead as doctors warn of serious injuries

Senior gardai and trauma specialists are urging parents not to give e-scooters to children and young teenagers this Christmas – noting the battery powered vehicles have been involved in one death and 24 serious injuries in Ireland so far this year.

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Mars to appear as extremely bright star in Irish skies tonight as full moon lights it up

Stargazers across Ireland are in for a celestial treat tonight when the full moon will light up Mars which will appear as an extremely bright red star from dusk to dawn.

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Gallery

‘It can feel daunting and sad’ – fewer young people at COP27, but Irish voices are being heard

Anyone who thought youth climate activism was a passing fad would reconsider after a spell at COP27.

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Simon Coveney: Ireland has ‘no excuse’ not to meet climate pledges

Ireland has no excuse not to live up to its climate action promises, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has said.

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Gallery

Bring back wolves to get Ireland’s exploding deer numbers under control, urges park owner

The owner of a wildlife park in Co Donegal wants wolves reintroduced to the wild in Ireland to cope with the rising deer population across the country.

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Gallery

Taoiseach’s COP27 speech failed to mention Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions are up this year

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has urged world leaders to show determination in cutting greenhouse gas emissions, warning that they will leave people hopeless if they do not act.

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In full: Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s address to world leaders summit at Cop27

Excellencies,

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Eamon Ryan says data centres are just a ‘short term problem’ for climate crisis until more offshore wind created

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan has said the high energy usage from data centres in Ireland is just “a short-term problem” as when offshore wind at scale is developed this pressure will be alleviated.

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Irish COP27 delegation concerned by human rights abuse in host nation Egypt

Irish ministers attending COP27 in Egypt have expressed concern about human rights abuses in the host country.

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Ireland to move on ‘loss and damage’ climate disaster funds, Taoiseach says as world leaders meet at Cop27

IRELAND will take a tentative step towards offering ‘loss and damage’ payments to poor countries suffering climate catastrophes in an announcement to be made tomorrow.

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Past eight years are likely hottest ever, worrying UN report says – as rapid glacial melt, heatwaves and rising sea levels noted

The past eight years are on track to be the hottest on record – bringing ever more dramatic and deadly impacts of climate change, the UN has said.

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Gallery

Climate change targets ‘not achievable’ due to lack of rural EV charging points, economist claims

The lack of adequate electric vehicle (EV) charging points in rural Ireland raises serious doubts about the government’s ability to deliver on the Climate Action Plan (CAP), the North West Regional Assembly (NWRA) have said.

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Gallery

‘Climate change denial deserves the death penalty’ – Irish activist takes his message to Egypt

Outside the Cop27 venue in the blazing Egyptian sun, a bare-armed Donegal man with a placard was beginning to feel the heat a little too intensely on his skin.

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Last eight years hottest ever on record, UN report warns as COP27 gets under way

Earth's warming weather and rising seas are getting worse and doing so faster than before, the World Meteorological Organisation warned as world leaders started gathering in Egypt for international climate negotiations at Cop27.

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Premium

What is COP27, who is going and will significant climate-change goals be reached at the talks?

Ahead of the COP27 talks getting under way in Egypt tomorrow, here are some pertinent questions about the climate-change conference answered:

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World’s most notable glaciers may melt away by 2050, latest UN climate report warns

Some of the world’s most famous glaciers, including in the Dolomites in Italy, the Yosemite and Yellowstone parks in the US and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, could disappear within 30 years due to global warming, whatever the temperature rise scenario, a new report has warned.

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Energy upgraders are more concerned with the cost – and not the climate

Most people who make energy efficient home improvements do so in order to reduce costs – rather than for environmental reasons.

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Europe warmed twice as much as rest of world in past 30 years

Europe has warmed more than twice as much as the rest of the world in the past three decades and experienced the greatest temperature increase of any continent, a report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) shows.

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October 2022

Greta Thunberg to skip ‘greenwashing, lying, cheating’ COP27 climate summit

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has called out next month's United Nations climate summit in Egypt for being "held in a tourist paradise in a country that violates many basic human rights."

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Premium

Cool response to UN report is damning as temperature rise passes tipping point

“Keep 1.5 alive” was the snappy slogan of last year’s UN COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

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‘We are still nowhere near the scale and pace of emission reductions required’ – climate pledges not working to slow temperature rise, three studies show

Climate pledges by the world’s governments have had virtually no impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions or calming global temperature rise over the last year.

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Greenhouse gases at record levels – methane rise ‘exceptional’

Greenhouse gas levels have increased again, scientists at the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) have reported.

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Temperature rising: emissions cuts pledges don’t meet climate action needs

ALL the climate pledges made by governments across the world are still putting the planet on course for levels of warming that will be catastrophic for many countries.

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Irish politicians fear COP27 may greenwash Egypt’s human rights abuses

POLITICIANS have voiced concern over Egypt's hosting of next month's COP27 climate summit when the country locks up climate activists.

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‘I humbly apologise for misleading you’ – EU farming expert admits his evidence to Oireachtas was incorrect

A witness whose presentation to an Oireachtas committee caused outcry among farmers has admitted presenting misinformation.

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Reports shows six biggest fossil fuel firms could pay the cost of climate disasters and still have billions to spare

A half-year’s profits by six of the biggest fossil fuel companies would cover the cost of climate-related disasters in developing countries, with billions to spare, a new report shows.

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Premium

‘We need to help our children to not sleepwalk into the same mistakes of past generations’

When the equivalent of the Galway ring road row erupted in Wales, it didn’t take a High Court action to halt the project.

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Hopes cargo bikes can replace more family cars as Bike to Work limit increased to €3,000

There are hopes more families will adopt cargo bikes for trips like shopping and the school run after the allowable limit for the larger bikes was raised to €3,000 under the Bike to Work Scheme.

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Premium

‘White gold’: the race to find lithium for batteries is closer to home than we think

For decades, oil has played a key role in dictating foreign policy for countries around the world.

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Weather Ireland: wet and windy weather here until the evening, Met Éireann warns

Friday’s weather is going to be wet and windy until late afternoon, Met Éireann has warned.