Sustainability

Sustainability, the Environment and Rural Communities

sustainability

Budget 2020 does not contain the ‘bold and new decisions’ required to meet the ‘defining challenge’ of climate change, and there was no progress on examining subsidies that the CSO has highlighted as potentially environmentally damaging.

Progress on Carbon Tax is welcome

carbon tax

Social Justice Ireland welcomes the Budget 2020 decision to increase the carbon tax from €20 per tonne to €26 per tonne. This is the first significant increase in the tax since it was introduced almost one decade ago, and we also welcome the commitment to ringfence the revenue to deal with the transition to a more carbon neutral economy.

Ireland continues to lag on SDG progress after Budget 2020

globalgoals

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals aim to leave no one behind. With minimal progress on these in recent years, Budget 2020 reinforces Ireland's position as a laggard.

Sustainability and the future of Social Europe

esde_2019

The theme of the 2019 annual edition of Employment and Social Developments in Europe is sustainability.  The report explores how the EU can support the transition to a socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable economy that benefits the well-being of all and leaves nobody behind.

SDGs and Local Authorities - Creating Sustainable Communities

dear sdgs briefing 2019

What role can Local Authorities play in Ireland's progress towards the SDGs?  Can small changes really make a big difference?  We believe that they can.  In this SDG Policy Briefing developed as part of the DEAR project, we set out some of the changes that Local Authorities could implement to create a more sustainable Ireland.

UN Climate Action Summit 2019 - what commitments will Ireland make?

un climate action summit 2019

The UN Climate Action Summit 2019 begins in New York today.  The purpose of the summit is for countries who signed the Paris Agreement in 2015 to bring concrete, realistic and effective plans to meet 2020 targets and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent in the next ten years.  What plan does Ireland have to fully transform the economy in line with the sustainable development goals?

Subsidising our own destruction

climate change

It's time for Governments to put an end to policies that subsidise and encourage the extraction and use of fossil fuels. Without such a move, Ireland will continue to be a laggard in terms of our climate action goals and obligations.

Billions lost in potentially environmentally damaging subsidies while Ireland waits for a Just Transition

Ireland has signed up to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and is committed to legally binding climate commitments in 2020 and 2030.  We have a national commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050 yet we spend up to €4 billion every year on potentially environmentally damaging subsidies.

National Social Monitor - Sustainability Edition

nsm sustainability

In the Sustainability edition of our National Social Monitor, we assess whether current policy on sustainability encompasses the three pillars of environment, society and economy and make proposals on how to transition towards a sustainable future. 

Does Ireland need a sustainable land use strategy?

ipcc land report 2019

The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report on Climate Change and Land raises some significant issues for Ireland, and in particular our policies on food production and land management.