Róisín Moriarty

@roisinmoriarty.com

3450 Followers 941 Following

Climate science and policy for a better, safer, fairer world 🌍🌎🌏 Working on carbon dioxide removal and national pathways to net zero and beyond -- Research Fellow @ucc.bsky.social 🇮🇪 https://roisinmoriarty.com/ Runner ⛰️ Snowboarder 🏔️

Newspaper article from the Irish Times, title reads

'Scientists urge Ireland not to adopt softer climate targets.

More than 40 international scientists have asked Ireland not to adopt a controversial greenhouse gas assessment method that would let the country away with softer climate targets.

The 42 signatories to the statement come from 33 universities and institutes in 10 countries, including 23 at professor level. Six are from Ireland.

Their message is targeted at Ireland, New Zealand and several other countries with high methane output—mainly from agriculture—that have signalled a move towards the new method.

The scientists express ‘deep concern’ that countries are trying to ‘redefine climate metrics and targets’ in a way that would leave global climate efforts ‘undermined’.

The new approach assesses methane differently from carbon dioxide, the most common and long-lasting greenhouse gas.

Methane has a much more powerful warming effect than carbon dioxide, but also a much shorter lifespan in the atmosphere.

Agri-lobbyists argue its long-term contribution to the increase in global temperature has been overstated, and that a substantial output of methane can continue while maintaining what is termed ‘temperature neutrality’ or ‘no additional warming’.

Most scientist argue the short-term warming caused by methane fuels extreme-weather disasters and drives faster ice-sheet melt and sea-level rise, which will have very long-term impacts regardless of whether the gas leaves the atmosphere.'

Written by Caroline O'Doherty

A letter sent to Minister Darragh O'Brien (DCEE) cc'ing Minister Martin Haydon (DAFM) today with reference to temperature neutrlity approach to methan reduction. The letter reads 'A Aire
A rapid and deep reduction in global methane emissions is essential to meet the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement, reduce peak warming and avoid climate tipping points.
We share a deep concern that the achievement of this urgent and necessary reduction risks being undermined if approaches to greenhouse gas metrics and climate targets are redefined.
We wish to draw your attention to a statement, released today, signed by 42 experts, including leading climate scientists, that urges governments to
1) reject the inappropriate application of GWP*, including the use of ‘temperature neutrality’ or ‘no additional warming’ as a basis for national targets or reporting
2) adopt methane targets aligned with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 °C target, requiring at least 47–60 % global methane reductions by 2050 and that countries pursue the ‘highest possible ambition’
3) reaffirm the Global Methane Pledge to cut methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.
Ireland is a high-income country with high per capita methane emissions—six times the global equity share —and as such, has above average responsibility to reduce methane emissions and demonstrate highest possible ambition in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy (JOC) reviewed the Climate Change Advisory Council’s (CCAC) proposed carbon budgets and recommended that the minister and government should consider aligning targets using the previous ‘Paris Test’ & and not temperature neutrality as proposed by the CCAC . We are in strong agreement with the JOC on this point.'

letter is continuted in next image

A photo of the cover of the book ‘A sand country almanac’ by Aldo Leopold. Photo on the cover is of a lake under an orange dust with orange sky and hills in the background. Two geese in flight as the sun reflects in the water

A poem written in black typeface on white paper.

Title: Poem
Not to write like a hammer to a nail,
or a nail in the word. But to write
like the memory of the tree.
The tree remembering the rain.
To write the rain. To read the wood.

By Sean Thomas Dougherty

Screenshot of a letter to the editor of the Irish Times, a response to a letter earlier in the week that misrepresented the findings of a scientific paper.

Humpedback bridge over a canal in Venice. Pink plaster palace and blue sky in the background. On the bridge hangs a white banner is written FREE GAZA along slide a Palestinian flag. More words in Italian that signal Italian unions strike for Gaza.

Jim from Office (US TV show) in front of a white board…it says when people travel to the past they worry about changing the present by doing something small…few people thing that they can radically change the future by doing something small in the present.

Some sort of yellow hunting dog, sat up in a cafe booth yawing while someone pours them a cup of coffee.

Micheal from the office (US TV series) making an announcement. "I have some good news and I have some bad news"

Screen grab of an academic paper Duffy et al 2025. Text reads: The adoption of a SG approach can make achieving ambitious climate targets more politically and technically feasible, particularly for countries with large agricultural sectors [24]. By setting separate, explicit targets for long- and short-lived GHGs, the approach provides greater transparency and can, in principle, be aligned with a 1.5 ◦C pathway [24, 47]. However, the legitimacy of a SG strategy depends entirely on the level of ambition applied to CH4 and other gases. Ambitious reduction in global CH4 can reverse warming within a few decades [23]. Setting ambitious CH4 targets makes clear a country’s commitment to contributing to that outcome. However, SG frameworks can also be applied in ways that lower overall mitigation ambition while maintaining the appearance of alignment with global goals in much the same way as the national TN approach. This study has evaluated two SG scenarios: SG1-IE (higher ambition), which reduced CH4 by 50%, and SG2IE (lower ambition), which reduced CH4 by 32%.

The image shows Figure 5 a and b from the research paper. Panel a is a Sankey diagram of Trade Flows of Livestock Products, in US dollars. It presents a high-level overview of global trade flows, high and upper-middle income countries to low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high-income countries, for animal sourced food products, disaggregated by income classification. It shows that high- and upper-middle-income countries primarily trade animal sourced food products among themselves, while lower-middle- and low-income countries receive only 4.9 per cent and 0.8 per cent of the total trade value, respectively. This highlights the limited accessibility of these nutrient-dense products in food-insecure regions and spotlights the inequitable distribution of production via current trade patterns.

Panel b shows, by means of 20 squares representing the total indirect land-use change area caused globally by animal feed demand within countries classified by economic status. Seven blue squares worth or indirect lands-use change are used by high-income countries, eight green squares are used by upper middle-income countries, four yellow squares by lower middle-income and one red square by low-income countries. Showing the proportion of indirect lands-use change associated with livestock feed for high- and upper-middle-income countries together account for around 75% of indirect lands-use change. Highlighting their reliance on land-use expansion beyond national borders to sustain their production levels.

Figure 1 shows: Figure 1(a) displays the temperature contribution from all GHGs. The BAU-IE scenario follows an increasing warming trajectory, while NZ-IE and SG1-IE show a decline in warming contribution over time.
TN-IE and SG2-IE achieve temporary stabilisation by mid-century, but warming resumes in the second half of the century as the conditions for TN are not maintained.

Figure 1(b) shows the temperature contribution from CH4 in each scenario. NZ-IE and SG1-IE decline faster before eventual stabilisation. Only NZ-IE holds stabilisation continuously. In SG2-IE and TN-IE,
CH4-induced warming rebounds more quickly due to insufficient continuous reductions.

Figure 1(c) shows the change in temperature contribution relative to 2020. NZ-IE and SG1-IE show a reversal in warming trends from the ∼2040s onward. TN-IE and SG2-IE stabilise initially before warming
again. By the end of century, TN-IE is the worst performing scenario.

The TN status for all GHGs is shown in figure 1(d) and for CH4 in figure 1(e). A scenario is considered TN in a given year if its contribution to warming is equal to or lower than the previous year; otherwise, TN is not maintained. Examining the TN status of all GHGs combined, NZ-IE and SG1-IE largely maintain long-term neutrality, while TN-IE and SG2-IE fall in and out of TN, especially post-2070. This reflects the continued warming impact of CH4, and insufficient CO2 removals to balance the impact.

In figure 1(e), CH4 temperature stabilisation is short-lived across all
but the NZ-IE scenario.

Screen grab of paper title, published in Environmental Research Letters, 12 August 2025. Title reads: National temperature neutrality, agricultural methane emissions and climate policy: reinforcing inequality in the global food system. Duffy et al 2025.

Screen graph of paper title, published in Environmental Research Letters, 12 August 2025. Title reads: National temperature neutrality, agricultural methane emissions and climate policy: reinforcing inequality in the global food system. Duffy et al 2025.

Image of a text box (Box 2.2) from Ireland's Climate Change Assessment volume 3 and the figure included in the box. Both text and image speak to the importance of Marine Protected Areas. The figure is an image of different types of protected areas, highly protected areas have lots of different types of fish and marine creatures, full of life and very colourful and this is contrasted with the present - empty seas, few fish species and minimum protection, again few fish. Fully protected approaches a marine ecosystem that resembles something from before human interference.

Presenter standing in front of title slide projected on screen - title of slide ‘Overshoot and implications for national policy’ by Dr Róisín Moriarty of University College Cork

Box plot that shows the impact of different types of policy instruments in the agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector. Framework regulations, government investment and technology standards have a much greater mitigation potential per hectare than subsidies, taxes and trading system policies. Figure 2.3 in original report linked above.

A black and white border collier running towards the camera on a wooded trail. The ground is covered in snow as are the trees

Walking path in Beech forest, trees are bare and brown, wet leaves cover the trail. Black and white border collie walks ahead in centre of trail. Grey mid winter sky can be seen through the trees. 21 December 2024

Image of twitter / X your account has been deactivated page white writing on black background.

Black and white border collie smiling for the camera.

Black and white boarder collie with pink belly, lying on her back, roaching, while owner works hard in zoom call.

Image of text which reads: Being particularly interested in research gaps around effective media and communication strategies and pivoting towards more holistic long-term research and educational strategies to address the climate and biodiversity emergency, I was taken with the report’s tantalising highlights. These include affirming that if media, culture and arts are to act as the bridge between ambition and action, inspiring people to act and offering people hope for the future through solutions narratives, then it is necessary for culture to be integrated and aligned to address our climate and biodiversity crises. Furthermore, the report recognises that while STEM subject areas dominate the research and funding landscape for climate change and biodiversity loss, the arts, humanities and social science disciplines need to be embraced as essential parts of the solutions to these crises. Consequently, the report recognises that transformational changes within the research and funding landscape are necessary to support researchers to step outside their silos to work together to find better solutions."

Figure showing increase in global fossil CO2 emissions and a projection for 2024, that indicated that emissions in 2024 have increased by 0.8% to 37.4 giga tonnes carbon dioxide this year.

Meme - Jim from the US version of the Office explains (two panels). Top panel: Jim points to a whiteboard.written on it "When people travel to the past, they worry about radically changing the present by doing small stuff". Bottom panel: reads"Few people tthink that they can radically change the future by doing someting small in the present." Jim looks pleased with himslef having explained this.

Meme - Jim from the US version of the Office explains (two panels). Top panel: Jim points to a whiteboard.written on it "When people travel to the past, they worry about radically changing the present by doing small stuff". Bottom panel: reads"Few people tthink that they can radically change the future by doing someting small in the present." Jim looks pleased with himslef having explained this.

Poster with information on national march for Palestine in Dublin, Ireland on 9th November at 1pm meeting in the garden of remembrance - calling for sanctions now, after more than a year of genocide in Gaza

Global temperature stripes for global warming. Moving from cooler times and bars of blue on the left to warmer time and bars of red on the right.

The image shows a cover of a report - Ireland's Climate Change Assessment report. The 4 covers of the 4 volumes that make up the report make a rectangle in the centre of the page. Each of the mini covers has a the title of the volume and a photo of the outdoors in Ireland.