Volume 2 – Achieving climate neutrality by 2050

Volume 2 aims to address achieving climate neutrality by 2050 by investigating and assessing three key areas: mitigation pathways, and what form reducing emissions over time may take; assessing the factors that may constitute and result in a climate neutral society, including energy use, land use and the emissions landscape; and finally, assessing the enablers that may make change possible by building on societal dimensions and investigating policy implications.

Authors include MaREI’s Dr Abhay Menon, Prof Brian Ó Gallachóir, Dr. Paul Deane and MaREI alumni Dr Connor McGookin and Dr. Shane McDonagh.

Volume 4 – Realising the benefits of transition and transformation

Volume 4 highlights the benefits, opportunities and synergies that can be achieved through transformation, and how they can be realised. This volume is a state-of-the-knowledge assessment that draws on global synthesis literature, including the IPCC and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), international peer-reviewed and grey literature to identify key characteristics of transformative change. It explores the emergence of these characteristics in the national context. Knowledge gaps are highlighted to inform and enhance research related to transformations in Ireland. This volume aims to aid national policy discussions toward enabling, catalysing and achieving transformative change and associated benefits. 

Congratulations to (soon to be) Dr. Jason Mc Guire for successfully defending his PhD thesis entitled "Improving Irish energy systems modelling to inform residential policy". Very many thanks to:

• PhD funder Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications through our CAPACITY project
• UCC Research, UCC Environmental Research Institute and MaREI for the research support and facilities

Jason has published a paper from his research "Developing decarbonisation pathways in changing TIMES for Irish homes" and several more papers are in the pipeline.

It was an extremely proud day to see Vera O'Riordan successfully defend her PhD entitled "Enhanced Modelling of Transport Decarbonisation and Policy Pathways for Ireland", under the examination of Prof. Jillian Anable and Dr. Richard O'Shea, along with co-supervisors Dr. Fionn Rogan and Prof Brian Ó Gallachóir.

Dr. Paul Deane spoke to RTÉ’s Drivetime (Listen here at 53 minutes) about Ireland’s first Climate Change Assessment. 

The Energy Policy and Modelling group at UCC collaborated with SEAI to engage on modelling insights, the future of modelling, climate policy and increasing absorptive capacity. Collaborative report coming soon!

Ó Gallachóir heralds the development of the all-island Single Electricity Market (SEM) as one of the “hidden giants” of greater all-island cooperation, 25 years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

In 1995, the North South Electricity Interconnector was restored after almost 20 years of inaction and since then several significant electricity and gas infrastructure projects have been developed on the island, ranging from the commissioning of the Moyle electricity interconnector to Scotland in 2021 to the approval in 2018 of a second North South Interconnector.

MaREI Director and Associate Vice President of Sustainability at UCC Prof Brian Ó Gallachóir spoke with Claire Byrne on RTE Radio One on the 15th of January about the announcement by Electric Ireland to reduce their residential electricity prices by 8% from March.