In this episode, Daithí is joined by Jack O’Donovan Trá: trained marine biologist and Communications Officer for Fair Seas, for a fascinating conversation on the role of our oceans in tackling the climate and biodiversity crises. A natural storyteller, Jack breaks down complex ocean science into relatable insights, from how kelp forests cushion our coasts during storms, to the invaluable ability of the ocean to lock away carbon through life itself.
Growing up on Red Strand, outside Clonakilty, Jack’s personal connection to the sea has shaped his life’s mission. He explains how the Fair Seas Coalition is advocating for ambitious, science-based Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Irish waters - areas that could rival the Great Barrier Reef in ecological importance and scale. He highlights how Ireland’s current policies lag far behind its commitments, and why local involvement is crucial to real, lasting change.
Thanks very much to Sorcha O'Carolan Murphy for support with research, design and promotion.
1. Fair Seas reports: https://fairseas.ie/resources/#all_0-139-reports
2. Fair Seas documentaries: https://fairseas.ie/youtube-videos/
3. Marine Protected Areas Bill: https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/general-scheme-of-marine protected-areas-bill-2022.pdf
4. Marine Institute Deep Sea rover: https://www.searover.ie/about.php
5. Kerry Tides of Time documentary: https://www.rte.ie/player/series/kerry-tides-of-time/10000923-00-0000?epguid=IP10000924-01-0001
6. EU Natura 2000 Protected Areas Network: https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity/natura-2000/the-natura-2000-protected-areas-network
7. David Attenborough Ocean Film: https://www.oceanfilm.net/
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43:47
S5E01: Kate Raworth – Doughnut Economics
We are delighted to launch the new series by bringing you this conversation with the iconic Kate Raworth! Kate is the renowned creator of Doughnut Economics, a new paradigm of economics which aims to achieve human wellbeing for all within the planet's ecological limits.
Kate gives Daithí an overview of how she became disillusioned with mainstream economics as a student, and how taking a step back from academia and getting some hands-on experience in the Global South sowed the seeds for her to literally redraw the model of economics.
The model for a new regenerative and distributive economy draws on The UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Planetery Boundaries from The Stockholm Resilience Centre, and Kate describes how the alternatives to GDP for monitoring the prosperity of an economy will vary from one context to another.
This is being proven by cities, companies and communities around the world who are finding ways to thrive in balance with support from the Doughnut Economics Action Lab.
The conversation is energetic and informative, and Kate is a source of endless wisdom and humility - she is equally inspired by the movement of Doughnut Economics as they were inspired by her!
1. Kate's Website: https://www.kateraworth.com/about/
2. Doughnut Economics Action Lab: https://doughnuteconomics.org/about-doughnut-economics
3. Kate's Ted Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhcrbcg8HBw&pp=ygUQa2F0ZSByYXdvcnRoIHRlZA%3D%3D
4. Universal Values wheel by Schwartz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_basic_human_values
5. UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/
6. Stockholm Resilience Centre's Planetary Boundaries Study (Rockstrom et al.): https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/planetary-boundaries.html
7. Greta Thunberg - 'The Climate Book': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Climate_Book
8. The Irish Doughnut Economics Network: https://wiki.irishdenetwork.org/Home
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52:45
S4E10: Eoghan Daltun – Natural Regeneration and Ecosystem Services
For the final episode of the series, Daithí talks to author and rewilder, Eoghan Daltun. They chat about the process Eoghan set in motion in the mid 2000’s to restore healthy native ecosystems on his 73-acre farm on the Beara Peninsula, Cork. Hear about the recovery of the ecosystems, the diversity of native species that he has seen returning to the forest, as well as the harm caused to the woodland regeneration process by alien invasive species, such as Sika deer. A small farmer himself, Eoghan strongly advocates that landowners should be rewarded for protecting ecosystems due to the benefits they provide for society, such as flood prevention and resilience to wildfires. Eoghan also has some very interesting views on the classification of what constitutes a native species and makes a compelling case for the introduction of various species, including Beavers.
After the interview, musician Brían MacGloinn of Ye Vagabonds closes the episode with his beautiful song 'Cuckoo'.
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Links:
1. Eoghan's Instagram: @irishrainforest
2. Eoghan's 2024 Book - 'The Magic of an Irish Rainforest: A Visual Journey': https://www.kennys.ie/shop/signed-by-the-author-new/the-magic-of-an-irish-rainforest-a-visual-journey-eoghan-daltun-9781399725606
3. Eoghan's First book - 'An Irish Atlantic Rainforest': https://www.kennys.ie/shop/an-irish-atlantic-rainforest-eoghan-daltun-9781399705295
4. Ecosystem Services: https://www.nature.scot/scotlands-biodiversity/scottish-biodiversity-strategy-and-cop15/ecosystem-approach/ecosystem-services-natures-benefits
5. Nature Restoration Law: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/nature-restoration-law-enters-force-2024-08-15_en
6. E. O. Wilson: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-O-Wilson
7. George Monbiot: https://www.monbiot.com/
8. IUCN on Rewilding: https://iucn.org/resources/issues-brief/benefits-and-risks-rewilding
9. London Natural History Museum Biodiversity Intactness Index: https://tnfd.global/tools-platforms/local-biodiversity-intactness-index/
10. Brían MacGloinn Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grianmacbloinn/
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58:27
S4E9: Gerry McGovern – Digital Carbon and the Impact of Electronics
We are delighted to bring you a conversation on the environmental impacts of technology with web designer and digital consultant Gerry McGovern. Daithí and Gerry have a wide-ranging talk about topics such as e-waste and the challenges of recycling most phones and laptops; how to lengthen the life of your devices; the embedded water and material impacts of devices and the huge demand for mining of metals that they create; the amount of unnecessary data that is created every year and the energy required to store it; how you can employ simple strategies to use less data; how to make your website use less energy; the large energy requirements of Artificial Intelligence; how Gerry is heartened by the Right to Repair movement and the potential of community activism to drive change. Music in this episode comes from Samuel Arnold Keane.
Links:
1. Gerry McGovern - https://gerrymcgovern.com/world-wide-waste/
2. Gerry's Podcast 'World Wide Waste' - https://www.thisishcd.com/podcast-category/world-wide-waste-with-gerry-mcgovern
3. e-waste toxicity in landfill - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352186421006970#:~:text=1%20(Chen%20et%20al.%2C,70%25%20in%20terms%20of%20toxicity.
4. Statistics on lifecycle carbon emissions of a phone - https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/your-phone-really-smart#:~:text=Yet%2C%20around%2080%20per%20cent,the%20lifespan%20of%20devices%20shrinks
5. Rare earth metals present in phones - https://www.acs.org/education/chemmatters/past-issues/archive-2014-2015/smartphones.html#:~:text=Scandium%20and%20yttrium%20are%20included,the%2017%20rare%20earth%20metals.
6. Recycling Rate of e-waste - https://unitar.org/about/news-stories/press/global-e-waste-monitor-2024-electronic-waste-rising-five-times-faster-documented-e-waste-recycling
7. Fairphone - https://www.fairphone.com/nl
8. Energy demand of any website - https://www.websitecarbon.com/
9. Data centre energy use in Ireland 2023 - https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-dcmec/datacentresmeteredelectricityconsumption2023/keyfindings/#:~:text=The%20percentage%20of%20total%20metered%20electricity%20consumption%20accounted%20for%20by,10%25%20(See%20Infographic).
10. Google's plans to build data centre in Uruguay - https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/aug/01/uruguay-anger-environmental-cost-google-datacentre-carbon-emissions-toxic-waste-water
11. Lifecycle emissions comparison of EV vs Internal Combustion Engine car - https://www.visualcapitalist.com/life-cycle-emissions-evs-vs-combustion-engine-vehicles/
12. Projection for growth in material extraction demand to 2050 https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/foresight/topic/aggravating-resource-scarcity/raw-materials-non-renewable-resources_en
13. 10x more energy required for AI search compared to traditional search engines - https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/6b2fd954-2017-408e-bf08-952fdd62118a/Electricity2024-Analysisandforecastto2026.pdf
14. Electricity consumption from data centres, AI and the cryptocurrency sector could double by 2026 - https://www.iea.org/reports/electricity-2024/executive-summary
15. Right to Repair Directive - https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240419IPR20590/right-to-repair-making-repair-easier-and-more-appealing-to-consumers
16. Samuel Arnold Keane - https://www.instagram.com/samyelyel/
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45:41
S4E8: Louise O’Mahony – Sustainable Finance
Daithí is joined by Louise O'Mahony, head of Sustainable Banking at Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI). Louise gives fascinating insights into all things sustainable finance, including the huge increase in green lending in recent years and why private finance is so essential to meeting our emissions targets; an overview of environmental regulations pertaining to the finance sector and why the European Central bank is so concerned about Climate Change, [food harvest and flooding]; and some policies and tools that would help banks to be more ambitious with their sustainability-linked lending. After the interview, Daithí gives five top tips for greening your own finances. Music in this episode is the stunning Mountain Song, by Anna Mieke.
Links
1. Banking and Payments Federation Ireland - https://bpfi.ie
2. European Commission on Sustainable Finance - https://finance.ec.europa.eu/sustainable-finance/overview-sustainable-finance_en
3. SEAI Grants - https://www.seai.ie/grants/home-energy-grants/
4. ECB has climate risks as second-highest priority: https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/banking/priorities/html/ssm.supervisory_priorities202312~a15d5d36ab.en.html
5. EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: https://finance.ec.europa.eu/capital-markets-union-and-financial-markets/company-reporting-and-auditing/company-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting_en
6. ECB Climate and Environment Risk Guide: https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2020/html/ssm.pr201127~5642b6e68d.en.html
7. Montreal agreement - Taskforce on nature–related financial disclosures: https://tnfd.global/
8. Christine Lagarde ECB president - 70% of banks’ loan portfolios is to high-emitting sectors: https://greencentralbanking.com/2024/01/29/eurozone-banks-face-serious-transition-risks-ecb/
9. Bank Of England research on connection between energy performance and reduced risk of mortgage default: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/working-paper/2023/the-greening-of-lending-mortgage-pricing-of-energy-transition-risk.pdf
The Climate Ambassador Podcast is a new look at climate change, incorporating what we have learned from the Climate Ambassador Programme, chatting to guests, while also investigating the overlaps into other areas of life. We will explore topics such as food, agriculture, biodiversity, climate change in the media, student activism and much more. We hope you will join us on our journey of discovery on a diverse range of topics, helping to connect the dots and share what solutions we can all take.
Ireland