Climate Obstruction in Ireland

Abstract

The Republic of Ireland is considered a climate leader, having passed ambitious climate plans, including the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act (2018). It is also a climate laggard, as policy implementation has been weak, failing to effectively reduce emissions. This chapter reviews the nuanced landscape of climate obstruction in Ireland, describing the evolution of climate policies and outlining the role of news media in platforming climate contrarians as well as climate denial and delay discourses. It also provides a sectoral analysis of climate obstruction, paying special attention to the energy and transport sectors and the discursive strategies used by the agri-food sector. This review suggests that transformative change is stymied by the country’s long colonial history of economic and ecological exploitation, implementation challenges due to inertia and a long planning process, its reliance on foreign direct investment, and the political power of vested interest groups such as the agri-food sector.