Forests have a key role to play in combating climate change, both as a carbon sink and as a source of renewable energy, but initiatives to boost forestry for this purpose need to be subject to proper economic assessment, according to the findings of an inquiry by the British House of Lords Sub-Committee on Agriculture, … Read more
27 business leaders from companies across Europe have supported the move to drive the European Union to toughen greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. In a letter signed by the 27 company heads and published by The Financial Times, Le Monde and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, EU ministers are urged to push for increased carbon-cutting targets. The … Read more
The European Union should agree that forest carbon sinks can be used to offset Ireland’s non-Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) emissions, a new report from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Food has recommended. In a report on the European Commission’s Green Paper … Read more
The enactment of new planning laws will see the beginning this summer of a transformation in how we plan our towns, cities and regions, according to Minister of State with responsibility for Planning and Sustainable Development, Ciaran Cuffe, TD. Staff at the Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government will begin work this summer … Read more
A report by the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security and the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Food, on the European Commission’s Green Paper on ‘Forest Protection and Information in the EU: Preparing Forests for Climate Change’ is being launched today, July 21st, at 10am in the AV Room of Leinster House. … Read more
Dr Appy Sluijs, who works at the University of Utrecht, has won the Heineken Young Scientists Award for Environmental Sciences for his research into the changes that arose in the earth’s ecosystems millions of years ago. He reconstructs sudden climate changes caused by natural processes in the past. His research helps us understand the variability … Read more
Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security today, Wednesday, 7th July, to discuss its report Ireland’s Greenhouse Gas Projections 2010-2020. According to the latest report from the EPA, the recession and reduced industrial production have had a significant impact on carbon emissions … Read more
A new study involving conservationist Dr David Roberts from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, has revealed that thousands of rare flowering plant species worldwide may become extinct before scientists can even discover them. Combining their own methodology with data from the online World Checklist of Selected Plant Families at … Read more
Having called for an energy technology revolution to tackle climate change and enhance energy security and economic development, the International Energy Agency (IEA) is seeing the first signs of this happening across the globe. However, it cautions that more needs to be done to achieve the necessary long-term cuts in CO2. The new IEA study … Read more
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, has launched a milestone report on the effects of climate change on Ireland’s marine ecosystems. The document, entitled ‘Irish Ocean Climate and Ecosystem Status Report 2009’, details a number of significant observations recorded in recent years including: increases in sea surface temperature, increased wave heights off the south … Read more