Five Degrees of Change

Noel Cunniffe is chief executive of Wind Energy Ireland, the business group representing the wind power sector in Ireland. For his policy changes, Cunniffe chose to ensure the planning system is equipped for the volume of renewables projects coming down the line, to launch a communications campaign around upgrading the electricity grid, and to create an energy demand strategy to use Ireland's excess renewables' resources. For his personal changes, Cunniffe explained how he was gardening for biodiversity, and how he was building his new home with clean energy in mind.

Tomás Sercovich is chief executive of Business in the Community Ireland, a business association providing advice and leadership on sustainability and corporate social responsibility. For his policy changes, Sercovich chose to ensure more diverse boards, to refocus valuation in companies on non-financial outcomes, and to future-fit business models for opportunities in sustainability. For his personal changes, he spoke about choosing to work in corporate sustainability, and how he is making more sustainable choices in his life.

Margie McCarthy is Director of Research and Policy Insights at the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). Through her work, McCarthy is at the forefront of Ireland's sustainable energy revolution and has a passion not only for solving its technical challenges, but for overcoming the social obstacles to the scale of change needed. For her policy changes, McCarthy chose to create a vision for Ireland in 2050, to accelerate the roll out of district heating, and to wind down fossil fuel subsidies. For her personal changes, McCarthy chose to buy no new dresses in 2024, and to tune in to opposing opinions.

Anne Graham is chief execitive of the National Transport Authority. She is tasked with leading the tranformation of Ireland's public and active transport systems, so that people can be encouraged out of their cars and onto bikes, buses and trains. For her policy changes, she chose to ensure the planning system is equipped to deliver transport infrastructure, to ensure compact development for more sustainable communities, and to move transport to multi-year funding. For her personal changes, she spoke about using public transport, using her bike, and plans to retrofit her home.

Wopke Hoekstra is the European Commissioner for Climate Action, having served as deputy prime minister of the Netherlands, as well as minister for foreign affairs and minister for finance. For his policy changes, Hoekstra chose to enhance climate diplomacy, to build more carbon markets around the world, and to bridge climate action with economic competitiveness. For his personal changes, he discussed recycling more and managing his own energy footprint.

Claire DuPont is a research professor of European and international governance at Ghent University, with a deep knowledge of the political economy of climate action. For her policy changes, she chose to better integrate the humanities and social sciences into the policy process, to invest in infrastructure and public services for climate resilience and climate justice, and to do proper climate risk assessments. For her personal changes, she spoke about trying to eat a plant based diet and doing more civic and community engagement.

Alan Matthews is a retired professor of agricultural policy and economics at Trinity College Dublin. One of Ireland's leading experts in farm economics and sustainability, Matthews chose for his policy changes to tackle the climate problem in agriculture through measurement and a land based emissions trading scheme, to reform the Common Agricultural Policy for sustainability, and to help consumers make for sustainable choices. For his personal changes, he spoke about cooking more vegetarian meals, and getting involved in influencing policy.

Pádraic Fogarty shares his deep knowledge about nature and why it is in chronic decline in this episode. For his policy changes, Pádraic chose to rewild 30% of Ireland, to put nature rights into the constitution, and to end industrial fishing. For his personal changes, Pádraic spoke about quitting meat and flying less.

Originally from Scotland, Andrew Brownlee is placing himself at the heart of Ireland’s green transition by helping drive and develop the key skills needed across the economy to deliver on our climate targets. As chief executive of Solas, the Irish state agency responsible for further education and training, Andrew believes that developing the right skills in the Irish workforce is the key to the energy transition. For his policy changes, he propose green skills for all, green skills for construction, and green skills for careers. For his personal changes he discussed walking more and leaving the car at home, and upgrading his energy rating at home.

Having trained as a physicist, Simon Sharpe decided to join the British civil service back in 2009 because he wanted the opportunity to solve “big problems”. Sharpe has since become something of a climate missionary within the British government, working on climate change at several different departments over the years, from energy to enterprise, and even representing the UK at the UN climate negotiations. Sharpe has now written a book called Five Times Faster, based on the simple premise that if global warming is to be kept below safe levels, then we will have to reduce emissions five times faster in the next decade than we have done in the previous decade. For his policy changes, he chose to develop risk assessment in the climate science space, to shift our economic modelling away from dated techniques to ones more consistent with a diverse and changing economy, and to move climate diplomacy towards getting agreement on action in individual sectors. For his personal change he chose to increase biodiversity in his garden and to take a zero emissions approach to his barbeque.

Sadhbh O'Neill is a climate activist with extensive experience fighting for climate action in Ireland, who is currently working with Stop Climate Chaos. Whether in the media, by running for election, through her research, or through the courts, O'Neill knows there are various avenues through which a better relationship with the environment can be demanded and achieved. For her policy changes, she chose to implement energy rating passports for buildings, make school transport free, and to ensure the planning system is fit to deliver our climate needs. For her personal changes, she chose to nourish the activist and to cut down on single use packaging.

Muireann Lynch is an energy researcher with the Economic and Social Research Institute who has an incredibly detailed understanding of the irish energy system. During her interview she displayed both a professional and a personal interest in the challenges of decarbonisation. For her policy changes, she propsed testing all behavioural change policies, thinking about systems instead of technologies, and reviewing the planning system. For her personal changes she discussed breastfeeding for longer and buying a cargo bike.

Neasa Hourigan has developed a reputation as a hard-working, principled, and increasingly disruptive politician. The Green Party TD for Dublin Central is currently serving a 15-month suspension from the parliamentary party after voting against her government colleagues on the ending of the eviction ban – the latest in a series of vote rebellions by Hourigan. But she is determined to keep pursuing her political objectives, especially in relation to climate change and the environment. For her policy changes, Hourigan chose to ensure proper climate accounting for the private and public sector, to take a longer term view on state planning and development, and to limit the sizes of large multinational companies. For her personal changes. she proposed joining a union and looking after her mental health while working on climate issues.

Mark Mellett is former chief of staff of the Irish Defence forces. Mellett has a unique perspective on climate and environment, having worked as with the Irish Naval Services and the Irish Defence Forces for many years. His experience has led him to believe that climate change poses one of the biggest security risks facing the world today, from migration, to conflict, to protecting new energy infrastructure. For his policy changes, Mellett proposed for Ireland to bolster European Union security and autonomy by becoming a clean energy hub, address climate security and migration at an international level, and promote loss and damage funding for poorer countries. For his personal change Mark discussed buying an electric car, and how he had set up a new company to help contribute to global climate action

Erinch Sahan is Business and Enterprise lead with the Doughnut Economics Action Lab. Doughnut economics is a new economic theory that pitches the idea of two visualised rings that represent planetary boundaries and social foundations. The theory advocates for an economic model that takes account of both, ensuring that we produce a strong enough economy to meet the social needs of society, without exceeding the ecological ceiling of our planet and its resources. For his policy changes, Sahan chose to transform the ownership and governance of businesses so they are regenerative and distributive by design, to redesign the financial system so it is in service of wellbeing for all and our living planet, and to design policies that fosters businesses that create a new green economy. For his personal changes, he discussed speaking to family and friends about the new green economy, and reducing flying and meat in his diet.

Michelle Murphy is a research and policy analyst with Social Justice Ireland, the social justice think tank. Social Justice Ireland puts equality and poverty prevention at the heart of its research and advocacy, and it considers environmental issues to be first and foremost social justice issues. For her policy changes, Murphy proposed a carbon tax on food, investment in cycling infrastructure, and setting up regional Just Transition dialogues. For her personal changes, Murphy spoke about reducing food waste and trying to reduce transport emissions after moving to rural Ireland.

Laura Burke is the director general of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ireland's environmental state agency and regulator. For her policy changes, Burke chose to form a national policy position on the environment, to prioritise action over aspiration on environmental issues, and to address the polarisation of the environmental debate. For her personal changes she discussed reducing her family's transport emissions and walking more in her local area.

Andrew Murphy is head of buildings and industry with the Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS), an NGO researching and advocating for high sustainability standards in products and regulations across the EU. For his policy changes, Andrew chose to include aviation and shipping emissions in national climate targets, to ensure pre-demolition audits are carried out, and to ban emissions' offsetting. For his personal changes he chose to move from glass wine bottles to using canned or boxed wine, and to turn down the heat in his apartment building.

Thomas Duffy is a farmer from Cavan in Ireland as well as an agri-environmental consultant. He has served as president of the Irish youth farming association, Macra Na Feirme, and is currently vice-president of the European Council of Young Farmers. For his policy changes, Duffy chose to implement an EU carbon border tax, to ban the below cost selling of food, and to make public transport free for under-25s. For her personal changes, Duffy spoke about flying less and putting solar on his farm.

Laura Heuston is a co-founder of the sustainability consultancy Sustainability Works. Her expertise in sustainable finance brought a unique perspective to this episode on how businesses can clean up their act and play their role in mitigating climate change. For her policy changes, Laura chose to bridge the language gap between sustainability experts and the corporate world, to distinguish between ESG integration and investing for sustainable impacts, and to brand Ireland's climate tech sector for a global market. For her personal change she spoke about changing her career and buying an electric car.