The Climate Ambassador Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

For the final episode of the series, Daithí talks to author and rewilder, Eoghan Daltun. They chat about the process Eoghan set in motion in the mid 2000’s to restore healthy native ecosystems on his 73-acre farm on the Beara Peninsula, Cork. Hear about the recovery of the ecosystems, the diversity of native species that he has seen returning to the forest, as well as the harm caused to the woodland regeneration process by alien invasive species, such as Sika deer. A small farmer himself, Eoghan strongly advocates that landowners should be rewarded for protecting ecosystems due to the benefits they provide for society, such as flood prevention and resilience to wildfires. Eoghan also has some very interesting views on the classification of what constitutes a native species and makes a compelling case for the introduction of various species, including Beavers.                                                                           After the interview, musician Brían MacGloinn of Ye Vagabonds closes the episode with his beautiful song 'Cuckoo'. - Links: 1. Eoghan's Instagram: @irishrainforest                              2. Eoghan's 2024 Book - 'The Magic of an Irish Rainforest: A Visual Journey': https://www.kennys.ie/shop/signed-by-the-author-new/the-magic-of-an-irish-rainforest-a-visual-journey-eoghan-daltun-9781399725606                                            3. Eoghan's First book - 'An Irish Atlantic Rainforest': https://www.kennys.ie/shop/an-irish-atlantic-rainforest-eoghan-daltun-9781399705295                                            4. Ecosystem Services: https://www.nature.scot/scotlands-biodiversity/scottish-biodiversity-strategy-and-cop15/ecosystem-approach/ecosystem-services-natures-benefits                                                                                       5. Nature Restoration Law: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/nature-restoration-law-enters-force-2024-08-15_en                     6. E. O. Wilson: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-O-Wilson                                                                                         7. George Monbiot: https://www.monbiot.com/                 8. IUCN on Rewilding: https://iucn.org/resources/issues-brief/benefits-and-risks-rewilding                                        9. London Natural History Museum Biodiversity Intactness Index: https://tnfd.global/tools-platforms/local-biodiversity-intactness-index/              10. Brían MacGloinn Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grianmacbloinn/

We are delighted to bring you a conversation on the environmental impacts of technology with web designer and digital consultant Gerry McGovern. Daithí and Gerry have a wide-ranging talk about topics such as e-waste and the challenges of recycling most phones and laptops; how to lengthen the life of your devices; the embedded water and material impacts of devices and the huge demand for mining of metals that they create; the amount of unnecessary data that is created every year and the energy required to store it; how you can employ simple strategies to use less data; how to make your website use less energy; the large energy requirements of Artificial Intelligence; how Gerry is heartened by the Right to Repair movement and the potential of community activism to drive change. Music in this episode comes from Samuel Arnold Keane. Links: 1. Gerry McGovern - https://gerrymcgovern.com/world-wide-waste/                 2. Gerry's Podcast 'World Wide Waste' - https://www.thisishcd.com/podcast-category/world-wide-waste-with-gerry-mcgovern                                          3. e-waste toxicity in landfill - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352186421006970#:~:text=1%20(Chen%20et%20al.%2C,70%25%20in%20terms%20of%20toxicity.                               4. Statistics on lifecycle carbon emissions of a phone - https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/your-phone-really-smart#:~:text=Yet%2C%20around%2080%20per%20cent,the%20lifespan%20of%20devices%20shrinks   5. Rare earth metals present in phones - https://www.acs.org/education/chemmatters/past-issues/archive-2014-2015/smartphones.html#:~:text=Scandium%20and%20yttrium%20are%20included,the%2017%20rare%20earth%20metals.                                                                                        6. Recycling Rate of e-waste - https://unitar.org/about/news-stories/press/global-e-waste-monitor-2024-electronic-waste-rising-five-times-faster-documented-e-waste-recycling                                   7. Fairphone - https://www.fairphone.com/nl                    8. Energy demand of any website - https://www.websitecarbon.com/                                               9. Data centre energy use in Ireland 2023 - https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-dcmec/datacentresmeteredelectricityconsumption2023/keyfindings/#:~:text=The%20percentage%20of%20total%20metered%20electricity%20consumption%20accounted%20for%20by,10%25%20(See%20Infographic).                                                      10. Google's plans to build data centre in Uruguay - https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/aug/01/uruguay-anger-environmental-cost-google-datacentre-carbon-emissions-toxic-waste-water                                               11. Lifecycle emissions comparison of EV vs Internal Combustion Engine car - https://www.visualcapitalist.com/life-cycle-emissions-evs-vs-combustion-engine-vehicles/                                  12. Projection for growth in material extraction demand to 2050 https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/foresight/topic/aggravating-resource-scarcity/raw-materials-non-renewable-resources_en                           13. 10x more energy required for AI search compared to traditional search engines - https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/6b2fd954-2017-408e-bf08-952fdd62118a/Electricity2024-Analysisandforecastto2026.pdf                                          14. Electricity consumption from data centres, AI and the cryptocurrency sector could double by 2026 - https://www.iea.org/reports/electricity-2024/executive-summary                                                                                   15. Right to Repair Directive - https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240419IPR20590/right-to-repair-making-repair-easier-and-more-appealing-to-consumers 16. Samuel Arnold Keane - https://www.instagram.com/samyelyel/

We’re very excited to be back with Season Four! Meet your new host Daithí Brooks, Climate Action Officer for Munster. This Season, Daithí will be chatting to a diverse and fascinating range of guests, who are taking brave and impactful climate action in their communities. We will feature thinkers and innovators from the fields of Irish Folklore, building and upcycling, transport, digital carbon, rewilding, sustainable finance, and nature connection, as well as the inspiring stories of some of our very own Climate Ambassadors! A strong theme throughout this season is connection. Connection to the natural world, to our heritage and practices, and to our communities. The first episode will be available to listen on Monday the 17th of June! http://www.climateambassador.ie/

It was such an honour to chat with Professor Mike Berners-Lee, of the Institute for Social Futures at Lancaster University and director and principal consultant of Small World Consulting. Mike is the author of environmental books including The Burning Question, How Bad are Bananas?, There Is No Planet B, a contributor to Greta Thunberg’s The Climate Book, as well as numerous speaking, radio and TV appearances.  We covered a lot of ground, with brilliant insights all the way. Topics discussed include carbon footprints, carbon-offsetting, Greenwashing, the rebound effect - and more - with Mike always delving into the reasons why things are so and what solutions are required, as well as how having a change of mindset and a real look at our values are much more important than any of the global decarbonising efforts underway. This is an entertaining chat, honestly looking at where we are, while offering valuable insights for lasting and meaningful change. Links: https://www.sw-consulting.co.uk https://howbadarebananas.com There Is No Planet B (theresnoplanetb.net) www.burningquestion.info https://theclimatebook.org https://twitter.com/MikeBernersLee

Laura Burke is the Director General of the Environmental Protection Agency Ireland. Laura is also the chair of the European Environment Agency and member of the Climate Change Advisory Council. In this wide-ranging discussion, we cover many environmental themes – including how Ireland is performing, the issues and solutions. With agriculture, we discuss the importance of looking at the ‘how’, as well as the significance of the Food & Drink industry’s emissions. Laura calls for the ceasing of continued illegal industrial peat extraction, alongside the need to speed up and scale up the reduction of carbon emissions across every sector. With transport, adding to the mantra of avoid, shift and improve, Laura discusses the importance of looking at freight transport, which will have different requirements to travel solutions. In regard to thoughts and opinions in Ireland, we explore some surprising results, while links are made to what we can do and how action leads to hope and well-being. A thought provoking and inspiring chat with Laura, a very experienced leader of climate action in Ireland. Links: EPA Ireland website: https://www.epa.ie Twitter: @EPAIreland Instagram: @epaireland YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/epaireland EPA Ireland on LinkedIn: search “Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ireland” EPA State of Environment Report (2020): State of Environment Report | Environmental Protection Agency (epa.ie) Climate Opinion Maps | Environmental Protection Agency (epa.ie) Climate Change in the Irish Mind | Environmental Protection Agency (epa.ie) Laura Burke - Session 2: Climate Change in a broader Environmental Context - EPA Ireland - YouTube European Environment Agency European Environment Agency's home page (europa.eu) Climate Change Advisory Council Climate Change Advisory Council (climatecouncil.ie)

Looking at ways to enhance, restore or rewild our biodiversity, although crucially important for many ecosystem services that we depend upon for survival, they should not be seen as separate issues to actions to adapt or mitigate against any impacts of climate change. In this engaging discussion from two very experienced, passionate and eloquent voices, we hear from Ray O’Foghlu, a Nuffield scholar, Wild Atlantic Rainforest Project Lead & Farm Programmes Coordinator at Hometree. We are also joined by Rob Gandola, a Legacy4Life Pond Development Officer, Senior Science Officer of The Herpetological Society of Ireland, Wildlife Consultant and occasional TV presenter. In this open and honest discussion, Ray spoke about the need of getting communities on board with any work on land to enhance, restore or rewild it and listen to their genuine concerns. Also, the need for getting the basics rights, enacting and enforcing what we should be doing now, is a crucial first step in improving our biodiversity in Ireland. Rob also spoke about the importance of getting buy-in from all stakeholders, through awareness raising, while listening to the concerns of the local people impacted on any biodiversity enhancements or rewilding, thereby building trust and enabling a much better outcome for all concerned. Both Rob and Ray would love to see a National Wetland Restoration Scheme set up, which could go a long way to restoring lost wetlands, while providing many ecosystem services, such as improving habitats and enhancing our carbon sink capabilities. Links: Hometree website - https://www.hometree.ie Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hometreecharity/ Twitter – @hometree__ Instagram - @hometreecharity Legacy4Life website – https://www.antaisce.org/legacy4life Facebook – Legacy4Life_An Taisce Twitter – @Legacy4LIFEAnT Instagram - @legacy4lifeantaisce The Herpetological Society of Ireland website - https://thehsi.org

Ever wondered what actually causes our climate to change or what’s the difference between weather and climate? Head of Climate Services Keith Lambkin and Meteorologist Joanna Donnelly, whom you might recognise from RTÉ weather forecasts, join us to do what we all love to do – talk about the weather. We cover links of weather to climate change as you might expect and amongst other things, we debunk some of the common myths surrounding climate change and explore what work MET Éireann are doing to react to and prepare for extreme weather events. Links: MET Éireann website: Climate Change - Met Éireann - The Irish Meteorological Service MET Podcast: The Met Éireann Podcast - Met Éireann - The Irish Meteorological Service Twitter: @MetEireann Instagram: @meteireann The Great Irish Weather Book: Gill Books - Children's - The Great Irish Weather Book Science Blast: Home - ESB Science Blast Professor Brian Cox podcast: BBC Radio 4 - The Infinite Monkey Cage - Downloads

Informing ourselves is one of the most important and effective ways of figuring out what climate actions we can take, while also helping to understand the bigger picture and how we can hold decision makers to account. Niall Sargent is a very knowledgeable journalist, with compassion and a deep sense of fairness, which comes across in his work with Noteworthy.ie and also shines through in this podcast about some of the important work Niall and his team carry out. We cover a lot of the big-ticket items like agriculture, forestry, peatlands, land use, biodiversity, energy, politics and storytelling, with Niall sharing in-depth knowledge, insights and solutions across a wide range of topics. Links: Twitter: @Niall_Sargent & @noteworthy_ie www.noteworthy.ie www.kateraworth.com/doughnut/# https://degrowth.info/degrowth

In this air quality podcast, we first hear from Dr Clare Noone, Senior Postdoctoral researcher at ICARUS, Maynooth University, giving an overview of air quality in Ireland and the interconnectedness of air quality to other issues such as climate & biodiversity breakdown. Clare talks about her work with the EPA on Five-Year Assessment Reports for Ireland, the importance of Methane and how that could be the best way for some quick wins with air quality and climate action, while also sharing some of her approaches to communicating the science. In the second part, we hear about the incredible work Aileen Bright, Sabrina Moore and the GLOBE team are achieving around Ireland with air quality, through citizen science, measuring and communicating with local schools and communities. They share stories behind the statistics, highlighting some success anecdotes and the power that has for both themselves and the schools and communities involved. Links: Dr Clare Noone on twitter: @clarenoone Purple Air makes sensors that empower Community Scientists who collect hyper-local air quality data and share it with the public: https://www2.purpleair.com/ EPA Ireland 5-Year Assessment Report on Climate Change: https://www.epa.ie/our-services/monitoring--assessment/climate-change/5-yar/ Angry Weather book: https://earthbound.report/2021/06/07/book-review-angry-weather-by-friederike-otto/ Trevor Noah Tackles Climate Change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PSR_OutuIw GLOBE Email: globe@eeu.antaisce.org GLOBE Ireland Air Quality Campaign https://www.globe.gov/web/ireland/home/overview-of-air-quality-campaign/about#:~:text=The%20GLOBE%20Ireland%20Air%20Quality,pollution%20at%20schools%20in%20Ireland. Clean Air Together: https://www.cleanairtogether.ie/ Twitter - @GLOBEIreland Instagram & Facebook – ‘GLOBE Ireland’ EPA: https://www.epa.ie/take-action/in-the-community/citizen-science/clean-air-projects/#d.en.90888 New Zealand’s well-being budget: https://www.centreforpublicimpact.org/insights/new-zealands-wellbeing-budget-worth-hype-contributor-michael-mintrom Bike2Work scheme: https://www.biketowork.ie/

Food – it fuels us, can make us healthy & happy and is a great way of bringing people together, what’s not to like? To look at food through an environmental lens, we are joined by Tony Keogh, head chef of Cornucopia, Ireland’s longest running vegetarian & vegan restaurant, who’s cookbook won at the An Post Book of the Year Awards, along with Roisin Fitzgerald, a registered Associate Nutritionist and chair of sustainable diets at Irish Doctors for the Environment. In our broad discussion we talk about the links between human and planetary health, as well as the links between food, climate change and food security. We explore what exactly is sustainable food, why we should reduce our meat & dairy and what benefits that brings, along with advice on how to reduce our food emissions and how to run a business more sustainably. We hear lots of tips and swaps for more sustainable food approaches and favourite sustainable recipes, including how to please those fussy eaters in our lives. Links: Cornucopia & Tony’s Instagram: @cornucopia_restaurant / @plantplaytes Rosin Instagram: @roisin.fitzgerald Irish Doctors for the Environment Instagram: @irishdocsenv Irish Doctors for the Environment Twitter: @IrishDocsEnv Roisin’s email: roisinfitzgerald3@gmail.com Tony’s email: tonyokeogh@gmail.com The Green Cookbook | Cornucopia's Latest Vegan Cookbook Our Team – Irish Doctors for the Environment (ide.ie) The Danish Official Dietary Guidelines (fvm.dk) Veganuary 2023 | Home | The Go Vegan 31 Day Challenge Home - Meat Free Monday (meatfreemondays.com)