Climate Conversations

Naomi Sheehan is a sustainable development scientist, environmental campaigner, climate advisor and social activist. Naomi has over twenty years of experience in Business Development, Corporate Transformation Programs, Humanitarian Operations & Government Policy Strategy. She then left the world of business to retrain in Sustainable Development and is now a member of Scientist Rebellion. With first hand experience of witnessing some of the rapid environmental changes from European glaciers to the artic, Naomi joins Derek Cawley to discuss COP27 developments, the pathway to 1.5 degrees, and why action, not despair, is what we need now more than ever.

For the final episode of season two we are delighted to be hosting Professor Hannah Daly on the podcast. Hannah is a professor in sustainable energy and energy systems modelling at UCC, before which she worked at the International Energy Agency.

Hannah's research and lectures focus on modelling and developing sustainable pathways for the energy system, encompassing energy access, climate change and air pollution. Over recent years she has provided a much needed voice of science and reason in the often emotionally charged and polarising debates on key issues in Ireland such as carbon budgets, agriculture, data centres, renewable energy and our path to net Zero. We talk about many of these issues with her, with a particular focus on the challenges and opportunities of cleaner energy.

The climate and biodiversity crises are increasingly being recognised as one of the major threats to human health and wellbeing, driving much of humanities efforts to decarbonise our economies. Yet the healthcare sector is an enormous source of greenhouse gas emissions and waste, with some estimates calculating that if the global healthcare sector was a country, it would be the fifth largest emitting country in the world. Achieving net zero within the healthcare sector is therefor essential not only for the health and wellbeing of the populations that they serve, but also in helping governments achieve national net zero goals.

In this episode we sit down with Randal Plunkett, owner of the beautiful Dunsany Estate, home to Ireland's largest rewilding project. Since 2014 Randall has been allowing the 1600 acre estate to rewild: by stopping the grazing of cattle or sheep and the growing of crops, nature is given space to flourish and functioning ecosystems are restored. As a result he has seen a huge increase in the populations of birds, mammals and insects, including the return of teh Corncrake, Woodpecker, Red Kite and Pine Marten!

In this months episode Sean and Callum head to the beautiful Green Earth Organics farm in Galway to chat to owner Kenneth Keavey about sustainable farming. Kenneth and his team of over 40 staff grow a variety of delicious organic vegetables, which they deliver to subscribers around Ireland. We discuss the benefits and challenges of organic farming, the importance of soil health, the challenges vegetable farmers face in Ireland, the importance of locally grown produce for food security and our health, what people can grow in their own back yard and much more!

This month on Climate Conversations Aoife and Callum speak with Dr Sinead Walsh about international climate policy and diplomacy. Sinead has had a varied and fascinating career, culminating in her current role as Climate Director in the Department of Foreign Affairs. Her career has spanned both the NGO sector and government;  she worked for ten years across India, Pakistan, Rwanda and South Sudan for Concern Worldwide before joining Ireland's DFA in 2009, where she has served as EU ambassador to South Sudan and Irish ambassador to Sierra Leone and Liberia, where she found herself playing a leading role in the Ebola response. Her experience during this crisis was captured in her incredible book 'Getting to Zero: A doctor and a diplomat on the Ebola frontline', which she co-published with Dr. Oliver Johnson. She has a BA from Harvard University, an MSc in Development Studies from University College Dublin and a PhD in Social Policy from the London School of Economics.

In this conversation they touch on Sinead's incredible career so far, the increasing impacts of climate change on the global south, the amplification of climate risk in those already vulnerable, the projected impacts of mass migration, Sinead's role in the Ebola response in Sierra Leone and how the lessons she learned there are still relevant in the climate fight,

the huge role of domestic policy in facilitating and blocking global climate action, the importance of realistic and long time frames for international development projects, Sinead's experience on the inside of COP26 and the need for high income countries to financially support low income countries in transitioning to net zero.

This month we have a special episode; join the IDE gang (physiotherapist Maca Hourihane and doctors Derek Cawley, Jeanette Golden, Ana Rakovac and Sean Owens) as they hit the road to Scotland to take the pulse of the COP 26 event in Glasgow, and bring their message to the global political leadership; the climate crisis is a real and present health crisis.

Welcome back to the new season of Climate Communications! On the eve of COP26 the worlds attention is focused on the climate crisis and how our leaders will respond. Communicating the scale of the threat and what actions need to be taken is such a vital task, and it is one that we must all increasingly take on in every forum possible. But how to do it well? In this episode IDE members Derek Cawley and Callum Swift speak to John Gibbons, one of Irelands leading environmental journalists and commentators, on the art of effective climate communication. John has honed his craft through decades of writing, speaking and advocating all things climate and biodiversity, and is now a regular on a variety of national media platforms. His blog https://www.thinkorswim.ie has a wealth of incredible articles and resources

Through engaging and broad reaching conversations with leading authors, scientists, activists and politicians, we discover some of the solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises that threaten our future, and learn how these solutions will create a healthier, happier and more equitable world. 

In this episode Callum takes a stroll through the forests of west Clare with Matt Smith and Ray Ó Foghlú from the Hometree Charity. Hometree is about land regeneration and connecting people to the process. They plant trees when it’s the right thing to do and have an expert team of advisors who guide them in the right direction. Their core value is stewardship.  Through education and supporting increased awareness and consideration of Ireland’s natural environment, they hope to nourish a new way of relating to nature conservation and rehabilitation.