Ireland and Climate Change

When our plane dipped below the solid cloud layer over Shannon, I had my first glimpse of the Irish landscape and was struck by the intensity and pervasiveness of the green I saw below. That was 17 years ago. This time, in late May 2010 my purpose was to hike the Dingle Peninsula, Inn-to-Inn fashion, and see the landscape up close. I cannot understand why the landscape did not strike me as equally verdant.  Was it that we had 9 days of brilliant sunshine? Were more subtle changes evident. I don’t know, but it made me wonder how Global Climate Change (GCC) will affect the Emerald Isle. You know the scenarios: rising temperatures, changes in precipitation, a hopefully small rise in sea-level, possibly increased storm severity and/or frequency.

How do these play out across a smallish island with relatively low relief?
Here plant communities can’t migrate upward or northward very far to take advantage of cooler strata. Biodiversity, once lost, is not regained in an island ecosystem. Interdependent species will be at heightened risk. How will the western maritime lands fare when exposed to more frequent or stronger storms?

Different thoughts arose in different places—from Great Blasket Island, Ireland’s most western points, we could see a couple of low, flat, rocky islands. These are among the few of the wintering ground of the Barnacle Goose, which breeds in northern parts Siberia, Norway, and Greenland. We already know that migrating birds are arriving one week earlier than “normal.” Researchers have found that some birds are expanding their range under the changes seen, and this has led to increased bird populations for the first time in memory. This correlates well with earlier leaf-out of vegetation. On the other hand, this finding does not mean all is well. Out of 850 plant species, about 170 have been determined to be vulnerable to climate change, and the proportion is much worse for species threatened for other reasons. Peatlands, long an important resource for Ireland, will shrink by as much as 40% by 2075, and that stressor is added to that from land-development and other causes.

The pounding surf showed the local waters to be incredibly clear, while beautifully deep blue offshore—Ireland is warmed by the North Atlantic Drift Current, which in turns comes from the Gulf Stream. There is some evidence that GCC may lead to a lessening of this current, adding changes well beyond the atmospheric effects that are presently better understood.

In the town of Dingle we tasted the freshest fish we’d had in a long time. How will an altered oceanic regime change the local fisheries? Between Cloghane and Castlegregory we hiked the longest beach in Ireland—there are sufficient low-lying beach areas and adjacent marshes that even a small change in sea-level will greatly alter this landscape.

These impression got me interested how the Irish and their government respond to present and future GCC. Ireland is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol and has pledged its share of greenhouse gas reductions, though this nation, as others, have not found it easy to reach targets. There is also the usual bloc of climate skeptics, and even the Environment Minister in Northern Ireland tried to block a TV advertisement on climate change because he disagreed that it was a man-made problem. The mighty German/International firm Siemens, on the other hand, expresses optimism that Ireland can play a strong role in helping to develop green technologies. Unfortunately, we did not get to talk to enough to “the man on the street” to form an opinion on general perceptions.

Walking slowly across the landscape, my appreciation for the beauty and richness was greatly deepened, and I would not want to see environmental degradation of this land, from climate change to other human impacts. The building boom, now over, had benefited from regulations on energy efficiency, green technology, and a desire to have the new fit in with the old, both environmentally and culturally. I came away with a feeling, subjective, to be sure, that there is ground for optimism—Ireland can and will be part of in an international effort required to lessen atmospheric CO2 and help us adapt to the changes already here.

(Some of the data mentioned here came from the Irish Committee on Climate Change “Sixth Scientific Statement: the Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity pdf file)