Parks and gardens - spaces for biodiversity
The city of Dublin is full of green spaces that are both havens of peace for visitors and places that support biodiversity. These include:
Wicklow Mountains National Park: located in Counties Wicklow and Dublin, it protects a rich cultural and natural heritage including moorland, forests and peat bogs.
Phoenix Park phoenix Park: originating from an old hunting reserve, and opened to the public in 1747, it is now one of the largest urban parks in Europe. Its 709 hectares are populated with numerous deer and are dotted with walking and cycling paths.
The National Botanical Garden the National Botanical Garden : located in Glasnevin, a few miles from the capital, it houses a collection of several thousand botanical specimens, which can be discovered on flowerbeds, rock gardens or in beautiful Art Nouveau greenhouses.
St Stephen's Green Park st Stephen's Green Park : created in 1664 on the site of former pastures, and located in the city center, this 9-hectare Georgian-style landscaped park has been redesigned over the centuries and includes lawns, wooded areas, ponds, and commemorative statues.
Merrion Square Park located in the city center, this Georgian-style garden surrounded by numerous institutions (including museums and galleries) cultivates the memory of its former walkers, the most famous of whom was undoubtedly Oscar Wilde.
We should also note the initiative of a young heir, Randal Plunkett, Baron of Dunsany, who decided to leave 300 hectares of his property, a short distance from the capital, under "free management" in order to promote biodiversity.
Shortcomings in water and waste management
Sewage treatment remains a significant issue in the country, where facilities are outdated or inadequate. In 2019, tap water no longer met drinking water standards in the Dublin region, where nearly 600,000 residents were banned from drinking it. Waste management is also inadequate, as is public awareness. The country is also one of the biggest consumers of plastic in Europe, mainly because of the over-packaging of food, a paradoxical situation in a country that was one of the first to implement actions against single-use plastic (tax on plastic bags in 2002).
Datacenters, buildings and transport: major emitters of greenhouse gases
Data centers are major contributors to global warming. They are major consumers of energy for data storage and also for air conditioning and building cooling systems. Ireland will have 70 data centers by 2021, with 8 more under construction and more planned, the majority of which will be concentrated around Dublin. According to the Irish Academy of Engineering, data centers could account for more than 30% of the country's energy consumption before 2030. While some data centers use renewable energy or plan to recover heat from servers to heat homes, the issue of increasing energy demand remains important.
Thermal insulation of buildings (particularly in the residential and commercial sectors) is generally insufficient and contributes to significant energy consumption. The transportation sector, linked to peri-urbanization, induces numerous commuting trips, thus contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and poor air quality.
Facing climate change
Ongoing climate change is already affecting Ireland with unusual extreme events such as Hurricane Ophelia in 2017. The frequency and intensity of hazards (storms, floods, droughts) could worsen as the century progresses. Dublin is also threatened by rising sea levels and coastal erosion. A rise of +2°C could indeed submerge part of the Irish capital. Faced with this, actions are not equal to words. In 2017, like other European countries, Ireland was sued by an NGO for inaction in the fight against climate change. In 2020, the country's Supreme Court of Justice struck down the climate change plan for lack of specifics. According to the Climate Change Index, a ranking carried out by the NGO Germanwatch, Ireland is at the bottom of the list of European countries in the fight against climate change. The main reasons for this are the country's heavy dependence on fossil fuels and its agricultural model (livestock and fodder crops). In terms of progress, we note the vote in 2018 by the Irish Parliament of a bill to prohibit public investment in companies whose turnover is more than 20% linked to fossil fuels. At the Climate Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow in November 2021, Head of Government Micheál Martin affirmed Ireland's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. It will be important to pay attention to the actions and means put in place to reach this target.
On the transport side, there have been concrete achievements. In Dublin, the public transport offer includes trains, buses, streetcars and self-service bicycles (Dublinbikes). Pedestrianization projects are also being developed. The Minister for the Environment, Eamon Ryan, a former bike shop owner in Dublin, has decided to invest 360 million euros per year over five years in the development of active mobility (cycling and walking), which represents 20% of Ireland's budget. It should be noted that two thirds of this budget is dedicated to public transport.
Travelling differently
Dublin is accessible by boat, notably from Cherbourg. Once in Dublin, the traveler can use the public transportation system of the country, or make his journey by bicycle thanks to the numerous existing cycling routes. In Dublin, you can also find a wide range of organic products, with restaurants and markets(www.supernatural.ie).
