Land use requires a juggling act of different needs. Offices, housing, parking, green space, retail, transport and schools all vie for the same spaces.

Environmental politics are heating up. Over the last year, we have observed a backlash to the “Green wave” across the continent. Whether it is farmers in the Netherlands or France or coal workers in Poland, long-forgotten pop stars in the UK, or Irish aviation billionaires, there are increasing signals that large numbers of citizens are… Read more »

Introduction We are in the middle of multiple crises. The lives lost and absolute devastation caused by senseless wars in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as the increasing hostilities towards those seeking refuge in our country, can leave one feeling numb. When so many lives are lost, when there is so much anger and resentment,… Read more »

On Sunday, the Ross Lake House Hotel in Rosscahill was burned down. This was an act of callous and brutal savagery. The empty hotel was due to become a refuge to dozens of people who badly needed it. This was not an accident. It was a crime born in craven fear. It is one of… Read more »

A little after 2am – hours after the end of the final official day (Tuesday 12th November) of COP28, delegates were told to go to bed and await a new draft text in the morning. The initial draft was roundly rejected on Monday as being too weak on action on fossil fuels. Sultan Al Jaber,… Read more »

At COP28 they rested on the 7th day and today restarts with a focus on ‘Youth, Children, Education and Skills’ alongside the continuous negotiations on the final text. COP28 has, so far, been a mixed bag with some incredibly promising agreements tempered by compromises and mixed messages. The Loss and Damage Agreement, which was rubberstamped… Read more »

Very few events during the Taoiseach’s present term will be as fundamentally happy as the safe return of Emily Hand to her family. The Tánaiste’s statement went basically unnoticed. Indeed, the Taoiseach’s full statement has also mostly been bypassed. What has been noted – with fury by many on social media and with rancour by… Read more »

What is loss and damage and why is it important? The causes and impacts of climate change are widely accepted. We know that more carbon pollution in the atmosphere, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels releasing carbon dioxide, leads to an overall increase in global temperatures. This causes a wide variety of impacts including… Read more »

Stop de Kindermoord ‘Stop de Kindermoord’, or ‘Stop the Child Murder’ was a road safety campaign in the Netherlands during the 1970s. It precipitated the widespread installation of active transport infrastructure for which the Netherlands is now famous. This campaign was led by parents who feared for the safety of their kids, and communities who… Read more »

“If we are confident in the capacity of human beings to transcend their petty interests and to think in bigger terms, we can keep hoping that COP28 will allow for a decisive acceleration of energy transition, with effective commitments subject to ongoing monitoring. This Conference can represent a change of direction, showing that everything done… Read more »