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Displaying items by tag: Climate Council

RTE News reports that hauliers are threatening to hold protests over climate emission cuts to the transport sector and "astronomical costs".

The Irish Road Haulage Association will hold a members meeting in the next fortnight to discuss protests on the back of the Climate Change Advisory Council's emissions recommendations.

It said its members are already at breaking point with rising fuel costs, driver shortages and the Northern Ireland Protocol.

IRHA president Eugene Drennan said hauliers are "deeply concerned" about the impact a cut in emissions in the transport sector will have on the sector.

He said the cuts come as haulage companies face costs of a magnitude never seen before.

"We are deeply concerned about the emissions cuts. We have been labelled as a sector that is going to get a heavy cut," said Mr Drennan.

While acknowledging the level of sectoral cuts are yet to be revealed, he said his members "cannot take any more".

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Published in News Update

According to the Climate Change Advisory Council, investment needs to be made urgently in areas such as decarbonising the electricity system with renewables like offshore winds.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, the chair of the Council Marie Donnelly said it was clear that Ireland would not be able to operate a straight linear line from 2021 to 2030 in order to achieve its carbon emission reductions.

She said this is why it was decided that two carbon budgets were needed in order for Ireland to achieve its aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51% within a decade.

The first carbon budget, running from 2021 - 2025, will see emissions reduce by 4.8% on average each year for five years.

The second carbon budget, running from from 2026 - 2030, will see emissions reduce by 8.3% on average each year for five years.

Ms Donnelly said: "The really clear message is that we need to take action now in order to get the benefit of the emission reductions in the second budget period."

More from RTE News here

Published in Power From the Sea

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!