The fact that we have to take everything about SMR technology on trust is important because for almost a century, the unfulfilled promise of the nuclear energy industry has left a trail of destruction in its wake. While carbon-neutral from a certain perspective, any claim that nuclear energy has been good for the environment can only be financially motivated. Apart from the obvious catastrophic impact of the Fukushima and Chernobyl disasters, in the ten years from 2006-2016, Greenpeace found 166 “near misses” at nuclear power plants in the USA alone.

Travelling to Rome in October 2019 was my first experience of slow travel across continental Europe. It was without a doubt more stressful to organise than booking a flight, but I can honestly say that it was one of my nicest travelling experiences.

Travelling to COP was a worthwhile experience. Participating in the different aspects of it, the pilgrimage to Glasgow, the climate justice march and the Blue Zone offered different experiences and I come away with a slightly better knowledge of the mechanisms behind these international dialogues.

I don’t think the importance of bogs for climate action, especially in Ireland, can be overestimated.

Discussions at times got slightly heated and a little salty but I came away from the discussion with an appreciation of the hard work that must be done on a one-to-one level and by the drafters of the text, while simultaneously being very grateful not to have to do it. The meeting closed with an expectation that a ‘landing zone’ (a set of compromises that will allow a deal to be concluded) could be found.

Yesterday, armed with a blue lanyard and a ‘terrible’ photo Ciara Murphy was ready to take on the Blue Zone.

Loss and Adaptation day at COP26 was marked by an Ecojesuit webinar about climate change impacts in Oceania and Asia, and a JCFJ school talk about the interrelationships between climate change effects

Undertaking a pilgrimage is not usually done solely to satisfy the need to be surrounded by nature or to exercise but can result from deeply personal, spiritual and faithful decision. While the destination is important, the journey is equally so.

It’s so cold I can’t feel my hands well enough to even tweet, but being at the Glasgow climate march is worth it.

  A gallery of photos from yesterday’s COP26 Global Day of Climate Justice in Glasgow. Exact numbers are hard to estimate – some reports say up to 100,000 people attended – and bystanders said it was the biggest march they had seen in Glasgow since the protests against the Iraq War in 2003. The weather… Read more »