Peatlands and the Project Explained

Evidence for the warming of our climate system is beyond dispute. The atmosphere and oceans have warmed, the amount of snow and ice has reduced, and sea levels have risen as the concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in our atmosphere have increased. Projections indicate that continued emissions of GHG will cause further warming and changes to our climate.

These changes are predicted to include:

• Rising sea-levels threatening habitable land and particularly coastal infrastructure
• Extreme weather, including more intense storms and rainfall affecting our land, coastline and seas
• Further pressure on our water resources and food production systems with associated impacts on fluvial and coastal ecosystems
• Increased chance and scale of river and coastal flooding
• Displacement of population and climate refugees
• Heightened risk of the arrival of new pests and diseases
• Poorer water quality
• Changes in the distribution and time of lifecycle events of plant and animal species on land and in the oceans

In addition, many of the pollutants responsible for climate change are also damaging human health. The impact of climate change will be felt by every individual, household, and community across Ireland. There is an onus on each of us to mitigate the magnitude of long-term climate change by taking actions to reduce GHG emissions, to increase the capacity of carbon sinks such as forests and move towards more sustainable lifestyles in general.

Ireland's Climate Action Plan sets out clear 2030 targets for each sector and the expected emissions savings that will result. The earlier we act, the better.

Source: https://assets.gov.ie/25419/c97cdecddf8c49ab976e773d4e11e515.pdf