The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, today (Wednesday, February 28) warned that the “green transition will not work if it’s divisive”.
But speaking at the fifth National Climate Stakeholder Forum (NCSF) in the Convention Centre in Dublin, Minister Ryan said that when it comes to climate, he believes Ireland is in “quite a positive position”.
However he also warned at the forum, which was attended by more than 200 people that the “green transition” in Ireland has to be fair and provide a better quality of life.
The minister today set out what he said were indications of areas where there was “a shift in a positive direction”.
Minister Ryan also highlighted in relation to land use that a third of farmers – 46,000 out of approximately 135,000 farms – are participating in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) and that “fertiliser use is down 27% and organic farming has more than doubled since 2021″.
Cork County Council
Meanwhile Cork County Council has today launched its first Climate Action Plan to cover the period 2024 to 2029 which aims to support the transition to a low carbon and climate resilient county.
The council said key goals include “actions and projects to protect, restore and enhance biodiversity across the county and support the transition to a low carbon transport system”.
“This includes the promotion of active travel and the delivery of new greenway infrastructure such as the Midleton to Youghal Greenway.”
The mayor of County Cork, Councillor Frank O’Flynn said: “This is a hugely important plan that will play a key role in supporting the council in delivering climate action at a local level across our many prosperous and vibrant communities.
“I would also like to acknowledge the significant number of submissions we received from the citizens of Cork county during public consultation and thank the public for helping us to develop an aspirational and progressive plan which I am confident will serve the people of Cork county well during its lifetime”.