Dingle Peninsula 2030 Delegates to COP-26 Model Sustainable Travel, Making Their way to the UN Climate Change Conference in Electric Vehicles

From West Kerry to the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, a team of delegates representing the Dingle Peninsula 2030 sustainability initiative are putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to sustainable travel, and making the trip in electric vehicles.

Dingle Peninsula 2030 is an initiative, led by Dingle Peninsula Hub, to transition the peninsula to a low-carbon society for a more environmentally and economically sustainable future. The initiative encompasses projects across energy, transport, agriculture, marine and tourism.

On 1st November 2021 the representatives of Dingle Peninsula 2030 will depart Dingle for Glasgow to participate in COP-26, the UN Climate Change Conference. Travelling by electric vehicle they will visit communities in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland who are working on similar sustainability and transition initiatives, to share learnings.The journey is being sponsored by Kerry Co Co as part of the Covenant of Mayors and by ESB Networks.

The first stop on the journey will be Tullamore, Co Offaly for a two-hour lunch and learn session hosted by Green Offaly, a not-for-profit countywide Green Regeneration enterprise. A number of local transition initiatives will be showcased at the event.

As the team continue their journey, they will then meet with Prof John Barry of Queen’s University Belfast; he is co-chair of the Belfast Climate Commission, which works with communities, authorities and industry to translate climate policy into action ‘on the ground ’and bring about transformative change.

In Scotland, the team plans to visit the town of Bothwell who have developed a 20-year sustainability strategy for their community. They also hope to  visit Knockraich Farm and Courtyard Cafe to learn about direct-to-consumer milk vending machines, a sector that is primed for growth in Ireland, reflecting growing consumer interest in locally-sourced food and drink.

On the 28th October, prior to departure to Glasgow, University College Cork, through the President’s working group for COP-26, is organising an online event highlighting collaborative climate action projects around the world, with a focus on Ireland, Portugal and Columbia. This year, COP-26 is orientated around the central goal of securing global net-zero by mid-century and keeping 1.5 degrees within reach. Working together is seen as crucial to achieving this target with “collaboration between governments, businesses and civil society” outlined as the necessary approach. This session will explore collaborative approaches to achieving decarbonisation targets and act as a preliminary event for the ‘Transforming climate solutions for business, cities and civil society in Europe & Latin America’ session at COP-26.