Professor John Sweeney, Emeritus Professor of Geography at the NUI Maynooth joins host Jim Scheer to discuss the stark reality of the latest climate science, Ireland’s energy and climate targets, and the chances of meeting them by 2030. 

Podcast host Jim Scheer is joined by Rachel Dempsey, founder of Full Circle Change to discuss her experience and knowledge supporting people to turn eco-anxiety to eco-resilience. They discuss the roots of the climate crisis, the youth movement, climate anxiety and indigenous wisdom on climate. 

Eamon Ryan TD, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications takes us back to his early years to share where he first discovered his connection to the natural world, and how that passion has led him to where he is today. 

Davie Phillip, Community Resilience Manager, talks to us about practical ways of engaging with climate action and about Ireland’s first ecovillage in Cloughjordan.

Sharon Finegan, Director Office of Environmental Sustainability at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has a conversation with host Jim Scheer in front of a live audience about her career and work for the EPA and the Department of the Taoiseach in communicating the importance of climate across Irish society.

Liz Bonnin, Science, Wildlife and Natural History Broadcaster chats to host Jim Scheer about her career in the environmental space and climate anxiety. 

This is a bonus episode recorded at the 2022 SEAI Energy Show in the RDS, Dublin. Fergus Sharkey, our Head of Public Sector and Transport, spoke to Adrian Joyce, Secretary General of EuroACE, who was a speaker at the sold-out seminar on Deep Retrofit, Insulation and Recovery Plan. They discussed the current energy crisis, Ireland’s retrofitting targets and the additional benefits for homeowners who upgrade their homes. 

Watch the ‘Deep Retrofit, Insulation and Recovery Plan’ seminar  

SEAI’s Jim Scheer, Head of Data & Insights, interviews Margie McCarthy, Director of Research and Policy Insights at SEAI, about the recently published National Heat Study by SEAI. It’s a comprehensive analysis of the options for reaching net zero emissions from the heating sector by 2050. 

Comprising a series of technical reports analysing heat supply and use across all sectors, the study provides key insights and proposed actions to decarbonise the sector. Crucially it stresses the need for early and urgent action. Margie and Jim discuss what form these actions could take and who should be acting on them.

You can read the report in full here.

This is a bonus episode about SEAI’s Annual Report Energy in Ireland, which presents the latest official statistics on energy use in Ireland. SEAI’s Jim Sheer, Head of Data and Insights, chats to Denis Dineen, senior statistician, about the report’s findings. They discuss Ireland’s national energy use and the underlying driving forces, such as the economy and weather, and more recently the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also examine greenhouse gas emissions from energy use, energy security, cost competitiveness, and our progress towards EU renewable energy targets. 

Read the report in full: 

https://www.seai.ie/data-and-insights/seai-statistics/key-publications/energy-in-ireland/  

Episode 7 features Pauric Kavanagh, Operations Director with KORE Insulation, and Dearbhla Stapleton from SEAI’s Business and Industry team. This October, KORE Insulation won the award for ‘Small and Medium Business Exemplary Energy Management’ at the SEAI Energy Awards. Pauric tells Louise what winning the award has meant for the company and Dearbhla outlines what made it a winning entry. We also hear about the supports SEAI offer to SMEs beginning their energy efficiency journeys.  

Learn more about how SEAI's support and education resources for businesses: https://www.seai.ie/business-and-public-sector/small-and-medium-business/