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Reposted by Paul Price

Barry McMullin @autofac.bsky.social · 20h

This is such an extraordinarily bad idea - and I suspect would have very little popular support across the EU: so not just bad in itself, but very bad for EU democracy as a whole...

Matthias Monroy @matthimon.bsky.social · Aug 29

The EU-Commission wants to negotiate a very sensitive agreement that would allow US authorities direct (!) access to police-stored fingerprints & facial images in Europe.
Potentially, all travelers could be affected by this #EBSP – and people in need for protection.
digit.site36.net/2025/08/29/e...

"Border Security" with USA: Brussels ready to give deep access to biometric data in EU states | Matthias Monroy

The European Commission wants to negotiate an agreement that would allow US authorities direct access to police-stored fingerprints and facial images in Europe. Potentially, all travelers could be…

digit.site36.net

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Pádraic Fogarty @whittledaway.bsky.social · 12h

Another significant environmental crime

Investigation after more than 30 acres of native trees - some centuries old - felled in Co Cork

jrnl.ie/6805578

Investigation after more than 30 acres of native trees - some centuries old - felled in Co Cork

The Department of Agriculture has been formally alerted to the incident by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

jrnl.ie

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Paul Price @swimsure.bsky.social · 23h

New Zealand's agri methane Government decision betrays its Paris Agreement global commitments to limiting global warming equitably.

It says, the short-term profits of NZ agri-food corporations are far more important to them than national promises to protect the future wellbeing of people & nature.

ECO NZ - Environment & Conservation Orgs @econz.bsky.social · 1d

NZ Govt decision to reduce the agriculture methane target ignores the science & will just add to cooking the planet & makes farming even more affected by extreme weather events. This is a lose-lose decision for the planet & NZ. #methanecookstheplanet #ClimateEmergency www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Government lowers methane target, rules out methane taxes

The government is lowering its biogenic methane target for the next 25 years, a move opposed by the Greens and environmental activists.

www.rnz.co.nz

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John Gibbons 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺 @thinkorswim.bsky.social · 2d

We’re entering a fascinating new phase of the #climate end-game, one where leaders, from Mark Carney in Canada to Micheál Martin here, perfectly understand how dire the situation is, yet decide - choose - to do absolutely nothing.

theconversation.com/mark-carneys...

Mark Carney’s climate inaction is at odds with his awareness of climate change’s existential threat

Climate action no longer seems to be a priority for Prime Minister Mark Carney, despite his previous activism. This is bad news for Canadians and the climate.

theconversation.com

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Barry McMullin @autofac.bsky.social · 2d

To be clear: corporations are *agents* - they have agency to act in the world, over and above the agency of their constituent human components. But they are not sentient, and have no *moral* agency beyond what is built in by design. In the case of for-profit corps it is actively *omitted* by design.

Auke Hoekstra @aukehoekstra.bsky.social · 2d

"Nestle quietly exits global initiative to reduce dairy methane emissions" Also not reporting its dairy methane emissions.
www.latimes.com/business/sto...

Nestle quietly exits global initiative to reduce dairy methane emissions

www.latimes.com

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Reposted by Paul Price

Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 2d

The full quote as reported:

“I don’t think we can mitigate for climate change,” he said.
“This might be controversial, because I believe in addressing climate change....

Joe Noonan @joenoonan.bsky.social · 3d

“I don’t think we can mitigate for climate change.”

- Mícheál Martin, Taoiseach.

www.independent.ie/business/tec...

Taoiseach says some climate projects will not be fulfilled because they risk polarising society

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has rowed back on climate change commitments, saying Ireland may not be able fulfil all current initiatives due to the polarising effect it could have on society.

www.independent.ie

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Paul Price @swimsure.bsky.social · 2d

To the IT it seems nothing says "victim" like a €21k Hermes handbag: the carpetbagger, updated for IE 2025.
slll.cass.anu.edu.au/centres/andc...

Carpetbagger | School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics

carpetbagger - noun: a person who exploits an Indigenous artist for profit. In an article addressing the issue of the ‘enslavement and exploitation’ of Aboriginal artists, Indigenous art centre direct...

slll.cass.anu.edu.au

Reposted by Paul Price

Róisín Moriarty @roisinmoriarty.com · 2d

'As Raworth wrote in Doughnut Economics: “We have economies that need to grow, whether or not they make us thrive; what we need are economies that make us thrive, whether or not they grow.”'

Editorial in Nature - Beyond GDP

End GDP mania: how the world should really measure prosperity

The obsession with economic output as a measure of human development puts sustainability on the back burner. Researchers can now help to devise better indicators.

www.nature.com

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Saoirse McHugh @saoirsemc.bsky.social · 2d

So bloody useless

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Róisín Moriarty @roisinmoriarty.com · 2d

Excellent overview of the recent Overshoot conference at @iiasa.ac.at by @carbonbrief.org

Bottom line for me...the core message is the same...

it is more urgent than ever to take action to reduce emissions

every fraction of a degree matters #climateaction

Overshoot: Exploring the implications of meeting 1.5C climate goal ‘from above’ - Carbon Brief

The first-ever international conference on the contentious topic of “overshoot” was held last week in...

www.carbonbrief.org

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Paul Price @swimsure.bsky.social · 2d

Disappointingly, "growth is good" was the core message in the lead-off keynote (economist) overview at the @seai-ie.bsky.social research conference yesterday. Along with following panel, it was as if Paris & carbon budgets & sectoral ceilings had never happened.
O/w the research presented was good.

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John Gibbons 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺 @thinkorswim.bsky.social · 3d

Pod of this week’s Last Word on the Environment with Matt Cooper on Today FM now available.

Astute listeners may spot that I’m deeply unimpressed by our so-called “climate” minister, Darragh O’Brien, a man as out of touch with reality as he is out of his depth.

www.todayfm.com/podcasts/the...

Did The Government Ignore The Climate Crisis In Budget 2026?

Critics have accused the government of failing to adequately tackle climate change in Budget 2026, which was announced by Minister for Finance Paschal Donoho...

www.todayfm.com

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Eoghan Daltun 🌍 @irishrainforest.bsky.social · 3d

"The eyes of future generations are on [us], silently urging us to act bravely and quickly [...] to save them from a collapsed biosphere.

Will we rise to the moment and earn the right to be regarded as 'good ancestors'?"

Crucial question, crucial book.

*Read it.*

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Elaine McGoff @elainemcgoff.bsky.social · 3d

This, while shocking, could be fixed so quickly. It's simply not good enough, and our waterways are paying the price.

'over 40% of these failures were avoidable, caused by poor plant operation, equipment breakdowns, and inadequate maintenance, training, or procedures'

Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) @swanireland.ie · 3d

SWAN Calls for More Urgent Action as EPA Report Exposes Persistent Sewage Failures

It “shows that more than 40% of the pollution failures are down to issues that could be rapidly addressed such as poor plant operation & inadequate maintenance & training"

swanireland.ie/2025/10/swan...

SWAN Calls for More Urgent Action as EPA Report Exposes Persistent Sewage Failures - Sustainable Water Network

The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), representing 25 of Ireland’s leading environmental NGOs, has warned that the recent EPA Urban Wastewater Treatment Report [1] demonstrates that pressing failures ...

swanireland.ie

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Jessica Green @greenprofgreen.bsky.social · 3d

Very important paper by @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social that shows, as I have argued, that tax policy is climate policy. We cannot phaseout #fossilfuels without attacking their wealth.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Andrew Jackson @andrewlrjackson.bsky.social · 3d

Happy to see this new article published yesterday - co-authored with @orlakelleher.bsky.social

“The implications of the European Court of Human Rights' climate rulings for climate litigation in Ireland: a new legal reality”, in the Irish Planning and Environmental Law Journal

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Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈 @maxdubler.com · 4d

Class 1 e-bikes, which require pedaling and have electric assist that tops out at 18mph, are very different than throttle-operated class 2 and 3 bikes, which are themselves very different from the bigger, faster electric motorcycles that are proliferating under the “ebike” label.

David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 4d

My unpopular urbanist opinion is that big, hyperfast two-wheelers are a menace and should be banned from bike lanes/paths (with enforcement).

These things endanger everyone riding a bike or legal e-bike. Worse, they deter some from even trying.

E-bikes have evolved into e-motorcycles. Law enforcement is lagging behind.

Serious injuries are on the rise in emergency rooms around the country, as electric cycles become bigger and faster. Lawmakers and police departments are scrambling to address the problem.

www.inquirer.com

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Simon McGarr @tupped.bsky.social · 4d

See this?

This story is the sound of a bullet you didn’t even know was coming at you whistling past your right ear.

Suzanne Smalley @suzannesmalley.bsky.social · 4d

Germany will not support Chat Control - a law which proposes to scan all messages people send even on end-to-end encrypted platforms - Justice Minister said today. German stance likely dooms the measure. Signal had threatened to leave the EU if Chat Control became law
therecord.media/chat-control...

Germany will not support 'Chat Control' message scanning in the EU

“Random chat monitoring must be taboo in a constitutional state,” Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said as German officials signaled they will not vote for a controversial EU proposal known as ...

therecord.media

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Elaine McGoff @elainemcgoff.bsky.social · 4d

This is honestly the stupidest thing I've heard in a long time- banning the use of the words burger & sausage on plant based products.

The world is burning & war ravaged, & this is what our Parliamentarians think they need to 'fix'?

P.S. Fish also don't have fingers, right @oisinc.bsky.social?

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Paul Price @swimsure.bsky.social · 4d

For sure! Even so, getting past wrongly equating AI Mode with genAI was a still mental block that kept me from looking at it 🙄
I hadn't realised that it could integrate our usage, battery in/out with low cost night grid, and solar forecast.
Or, as surprisingly, how it would solve for these.

Sigen AI Mode screenshot of Production & Consumption Forecast (kW) for load consumed, PV solar produced, sell battery to grid, and charge battery from grid.

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Paul Price @swimsure.bsky.social · 4d

As with this switch possibility, we are still trying to understand our 5-mo old PV-battery system & future options. Partly by not knowing what questions to ask.
– eg we did not turn on "AI" (offputting name!) until 2 weeks ago, turns out its adding ~€1+/day revenue & saving more grid FF via battery.

Sigen app screenshot of AI Mode versus standard self-consumption.

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Paul Price @swimsure.bsky.social · 4d

"MEPs shred few remaining environmental safeguards in EU farm policy" –@eeb.org
'In a vote today the European Parliament pushed ahead with dangerous drive to “simplify” [=deregulate] the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by gutting its few remaining environmental protections'
eeb.org/meps-shred-f...

MEPs shred few remaining environmental safeguards in EU farm policy

Brussels, 8 October 2025 – In a vote today the European Parliament pushed ahead with a dangerous drive to “simplify” the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by gutting its few remaining environmental pro...

eeb.org

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Phil Kearney @philkearney.bsky.social · 5d

Full credit to @autofac.bsky.social, Prof John Sweeney, @hannahdaly.ie & @swimsure.bsky.social for authoritative and persuasive presentations to the Joint Oireachtas Committee.

Paul Price @swimsure.bsky.social · 5d

🇮🇪Out Now:
Good new science-informed "Report on proposed Carbon Budgets" from (parliamentary) Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy'.

Recommendations 1-10 echo scientific & eNGO concerns for CB transparency in meeting Paris Agreement goals.

data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachta...

Title page Ireland JCCEE Report on the proposed Carbon Budgets:

An Comhchoiste um Aeráid, Comhshaol agus Fuinneamh Tuarascáil maidir leis Buiséid Charbóin atá beartaithe Deireadh Fómhair 2025

Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy Report on the proposed Carbon Budgets October 2025

34/CEE/02

Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy Report on the proposed Carbon Budgets October 2025, p 13-14.

"18. Expert scientists who subsequently presented to the Committee acknowledged the Council’s responsiveness however, having reviewed the CCAC’s cycle 2 ‘Paris Test’ analysis, held the view that it remains unsatisfactory, highlighting several concerns, particularly in relation the statutory requirement for consistency with Article 2 of the Paris Agreement. The Committee heard that for the purpose of the test, the Council chose not to compare the peak of Irish warming contribution to the peak of global warming around 2050, but rather compare the significantly lower Irish warming contribution as of 2100 to the projected global peak in 2050. Experts warned the Committee that this approach ‘amounted to comparing apples and oranges’, and if adopted, would allow collective global scenarios where the temperature peak could substantially exceed the 1.5°C limit. In addition, the test relies on the reference year of 2020 as a basis for equitable differentiation. It was noted by Professor McMullin that this “directly conflicts with the professional ethical advice commissioned by the council itself” which found that choice of year “lay well outside the climate ethics consensus”. Professors McMullin and Sweeney noted that 2015, the year the Paris Agreement was signed, is the latest possible “defensible” year for determining differentiated responsibilities and capacities Report on the proposed Carbon Budgets under Article 2 of that agreement. The Committee also notes from its submissions, other analysis which demonstrate that none of Council’s recommended temperature neutrality scenarios would pass the CCAC 2021 ‘Paris Test.’. Professor John Sweeney emphasised that equity principles and climate justice demand more ambitious mitigation or more limited budgets from countries such as Ireland."

Ireland JCCEE Report on the proposed Carbon Budgets, Recommendations 1-4:

1. The Committee recommends that the Council’s carbon budget proposal and reports are subjected to an open and independent peer review process. The Committee is of the view that the Minister and Government should consider, following the conclusion of the independent peer review, aligning targets in line with the previous ‘Paris Test’ and not temperature neutrality as proposed in the draft budget. The adoption of 2015 as the year of reference for the basis of equitable differentiation is also encouraged, as is the use of a comparable reference year of 2050 to measure Ireland’s contribution to peak global warming. 2. The Committee recommends that prior to finalisation of the Carbon Budgets for 2030-2025 and 2035-2040, the Minister should request that CCAC review their final carbon budget proposals to ensure that they are consistent with; - The achievement of the National Climate Objective including climate neutrality, defined as net-zero all GHG emissions by 2050. - Article 2 of the Paris Agreement, including both the temperature goals and the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities”. 3. The Committee notes the importance of gaining insights from those with specific expertise and for providing opportunities for wider societal engagement. Acknowledging witness approval of the IPCC open peer review process, the Committee recommends that the CCAC engage an open-access system whereby people can volunteer to provide comments and feedback on the development of carbon budget proposals. Such system would require the CCAC to publish draft forms of ongoing reports, making them available for peer review. 4. The Committee recommends the clear identification of major barriers inhibiting the achievement of Ireland’s climate goals and resulting in the exceedance and rollover

Ireland JCCEE Report on the proposed Carbon Budgets, Recommendations (4 continued to 10).

4 continued: of the carbon budgets, noting that failure to meet targets in each budgetary cycle will have a carry-over impact on subsequent budgets and does not adhere to the principle of fairness between global north and south. 5. The Committee recommends that while finalising or revising the carbon budgets, and subsequent sectoral allocations, the Government immediately prepare credible measures to ensure a Just Transition across all sectors of society. 6. The Committee recommends that the Government immediately conduct a review into the efficacy and adequacy of the Just Transition measures employed during the first carbon budget and to produce a report and recommendations within 6 months. 7. The Committee recommends that the Council’s carbon budget proposal and reports are subjected to an open and independent socio-economic analysis. 8. The Committee recommends that while finalising or revising the carbon budgets and subsequent sectorial emissions ceilings, the Government immediately prepares credible measures to ensure the carbon budgets are delivered without undermining with other priorities that have a mandate from the public, including critical infrastructural and strategic priorities. 9. The Committee recommends that, in light of the projected exceedance of the first two carbon budgets, there should be an urgent review and increase of actions to facilitate the just transition to a sustainable low-carbon economy and society. The scale of the challenge and ambition must be communicated effectively and clearly to all sectors of society. 10. The Committee recommends the phase out of fossil fuels at the earliest possible date and their replacement with sustainable energy produced in Ireland, to form the central part of the state’s energy strategy.

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Environmental Pillar @envpillar.bsky.social · 5d

Budget 2026 is a standstill budget which will not deliver the transformational transition needed for climate action www.environmentalpillar.ie/budget-2026-...

Budget 2026 delivers little for climate action – Environmental Pillar - The Environmental Pillar

Budget 2026 is a standstill budget which will not deliver the transformational transition needed for climate action, according to the Environmental Pillar. Karen Ciesielski, Environmental Pillar Coord...

www.environmentalpillar.ie

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