We’re out of step with the world on green issues

The Sunday Times
June 28, 2009
Eamon Delaney: As the rest of the globe invests in renewables, Ireland risks being left behind when it comes to the environment
Eamon Delaney

Last week the British government unveiled the world’s largest co-ordinated trial of environmentally-friendly vehicles, designed to accelerate the introduction of electric cars. This is a development that should interest us here, as a country with huge car dependency and the consequent effects on planning, traffic congestion, global emissions and child obesity. Some chance of that.
As the rest of the world goes forward on green issues, Ireland seems to be in reverse gear. In the recent local and European elections, the Green party was punished, and purely because of the economic policies of their larger partner in government, Fianna Fail. But green ideas are now central to the political systems of most European countries — especially in France. The Greens became the majority party in Paris in the European elections. In Ireland they are being pushed further to the margins.
Not only is this terribly short-sighted, it is also an indictment of just how parochial our political system is. John Gormley, the Green party leader, had hoped that voters in the local elections would focus on issues such as planning, but instead the electorate dwelt on the knockabout of national politics, and on personalities in the European contests.
And yet Ireland should care more than most countries about green issues. We are a small island, with a generally unspoilt landscape, dependent on a long-standing tourist industry. Agriculture has been a mainstay of the economy, and we should be benefiting from the international move towards locally produced food at the expense of mass-produced fare tainted with chemicals. Meanwhile, our cities and towns are clogged with private cars. Worst of all we have a crippling dependence on fossil fuels when we should be developing alternative energy sources, as other countries are doing.
Green is now good business. Ecology is no longer seen as “anti-growth” and, in fact, investment is pouring into low-carbon technology. The Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change — made up of the heads of companies such as Unilever, Tesco and Philips — persuaded Tony Blair and EU President José Manuel Barroso to make the issue a priority. General Electric, Dow and Alcoa were equally active as members of the US Climate Action Partnership. A far cry from the days when the Greens were scorned by the corporate world, just as they’re still ridiculed here by some knuckleheaded politicians and tabloid pundits.
Last year, for the first time, wind, solar and other renewables are thought to have accounted for more investment worldwide than coal- and gas-generated electricity projects. It has been estimated that 2.3m people worldwide are working either directly in the renewables sector or in supplier industries. There could be 2.1m people employed worldwide in the wind sector alone by 2030, and 6.3m people in solar-energy programmes.
All this may point the way out of the global economic crisis. China, which has been accused of being a great polluter, has now wholly embraced the development of other sources of energy, as has America under Obama.
But in Ireland, we are still behind. When a highly innovative wind project, the Spirit of Ireland, was launched recently, it was virtually ignored by our politicians and media, despite its potential to transform the Irish economy, lessen our dependency on fossil fuels, and reduce energy costs for consumers. It could even turn us into a net exporter of energy to the rest of Europe. It would certainly help reduce our level of carbon emissions, which remains incredibly high.
If we don’t take action, due to continued laziness and ignorance, we will be forced to do so by the international community and the EU. This is usually the way with Ireland; outside bodies have to force us to do things that are good for us. Meanwhile, our Greens suffer at the polls, and not because of their policies.