Dr. Cara Augustenborg
Assistant Professor, Head of Environmental Policy at UCD; Member of Ireland's Climate Change Advisory Council; Member of the President of Ireland's Council of State
- Reposted by Dr. Cara Augustenborg
- 🌍 New in J. of Environmental Policy & Planning! Our study identifies the 5 biggest, interlinked barriers to environmental policy implementation in Ireland and proposes systematic fixes: Open Access read here: 🔗 doi.org/10.1080/1523... #EnvironmentalPolicy #Ireland #ClimateGovernance
- Last night, my fellow Council of State members got to hear one of President Higgins' final speeches. It was particularly emotional taking this photo in front of Irl's first Council of State, noting how times have changed for us ladies in particular!
- I am eternally grateful to President Higgins for the opportunity to serve on his Council and for his 14yrs of work bringing climate change & ecology to the forefront of everything he did.
- Yesterday, we welcomed George Marshall to University College Dublin for Earth Institute's public event on how to talk about climate change. Today, George joins my EPA Ireland project team to launch our Community of Practice Using Worldview to Inspire & Scale Climate Action (UWISCA).
- For the record, I also had several media coaching sessions with Ivan Yates and it was the best media training I've ever had! Anyone who spent any time with IY knew he ran a business for the last few years doing this, so why is it a surprise to someone who worked with him regularly?
- Matt Cooper appeared to be taken aback on his Today FM show yesterday evening when Fianna Fáil TD Niall Collins revealed that he too received media training from Ivan Yates. Cooper asked the question after Collins made a rather punchy remark on The Last Word. jrnl.ie/6864881
- Reposted by Dr. Cara AugustenborgAn extraordinary omission. Yes, policy is the domain of Gov, but climate is one area where a President, limited though their powers may be, could actually play a significant role, e.g. by mobilising community action and lifting the voices of people affected. 👏 @caugustenborg.bsky.social et al.
- RTÉ receives formal complaint over ‘exclusion’ of climate issues from presidential debates www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
- In honour of President Michael D. Higgins' last few days in the Aras, I popped into Newstalk studio to chat with Ciara Doherty, Gavin Duffy & Tadgh McNally about the President's legacy. How will Michael D Higgin’s Presidency be remembered? | Newstalk www.newstalk.com/podcasts/hig...
- Reposted by Dr. Cara AugustenborgFrom Dr Cara Augustenborg, @hannahdaly.ie @autofac.bsky.social Prof John Sweeney and others. #ClimateEmergency www.irishtimes.com/environment/...
- Reposted by Dr. Cara AugustenborgWe fully agree @caugustenborg.bsky.social . @rte.ie has most especially failed children and young people on this issue. They should know what the next President's views are on the issue which will most shape their collective futures.
- I'm heart broken Ireland's national broadcaster stuck to same old 7 questions tonight on #áras25 presidential debate & avoided the climate question several of us begged them to ask. We learned nothing new of candidates' positions on major global/national challenges. RTE has failed the public.
- Reposted by Dr. Cara AugustenborgFully agree. Especially upsetting for young people, especially those voting in their first election, not to see the next President asked about the issue that will most affect their futures. @rte.ie have let them down hugely.
- I'm heart broken Ireland's national broadcaster stuck to same old 7 questions tonight on #áras25 presidential debate & avoided the climate question several of us begged them to ask. We learned nothing new of candidates' positions on major global/national challenges. RTE has failed the public.
- Please email primetime@rte.ie to ask them to break the #ClimateSilence & ask the 2 candidates "How will you integrate climate change into your Presidency?” in the last TV debate on Tuesday I've done the research to make this easy @thejournal.ie www.thejournal.ie/readme/clima... #Aras25
- I've listened to 3 presidential debates so far & learned nothing on candidates' position on climate. I've even emailed to ask them this & have yet to receive replies. Anyone else feel same? @rte.ie @virginmedianews.bsky.social @heatherhumphries.bsky.social @catherineconnolly.bsky.social
- Fair play to #CatherineConnolly team who just sent a lovely reply to my request for info and a resource pack of her climate & environment interventions for students in my Climate Policy & Politics module. 🙌
- Responses from both candidates now here: osf.io/ruaec/files/...
- Just saw Pete Hegseth's ridiculous speech to US military and, for the first time since my father (USAF Colonel) died 5 years ago, I am relieved he is not alive to see what a mockery is being made of the the cause he dedicated his life too. 😔
- This is a good summary of healing words of @barackobama.bsky.social in Dublin last night, but fails to mention what struck me most: #climatechange comprised at least 20% of the conversation & was first issue mentioned as priority for #ObamaFoundation. 💚 #BarackObama www.rte.ie/news/us/2025...
- If you are at the National Ploughing Championship today, come say hello!
- On the 20yr anniversary of #HurricaneKatrina, I dusted off my 2017 blog after my last trip to my former home of NOLA. It still holds up! www.caraaugustenborg.com/latest-news/...
- Thank you @yurikageyama.bsky.social for a feel good story amid the gloom. I have a bug loving kid here in Ireland, but they seem to be a rare breed here! A culture of bug loving kids sounds like just what the world needs. 🐛🪲🐞
- My @apnews.com Story and My AP Photos today apnews.com/article/inse...
- Reposted by Dr. Cara AugustenborgActor Mandy Patinkin’s plea for Jews to consider how what Netanyahu’s Israeli government is doing to Gaza is not just harming Palestinians and killing kids — but also endangering Jews across the globe.
- Reposted by Dr. Cara AugustenborgGood morning! ☀️ We are looking for a researcher (or research team) to support an exciting new report on how clean flexibility solutions can replace fossil gas. More info below 👇 Please share with your networks and/or names of any suitable candidates. Merci! beyondfossilfuels.org/about-us/wor...
- Reposted by Dr. Cara Augustenborg🚨2 years after Irish gov launched €15m Shared Island sports club EV charger scheme, none have been fitted. Now a report warns the delays pose a ‘reputational risk’ to government climate initiatives @caugustenborg.bsky.social @irishnews.com @ucddublin.bsky.social www.irishnews.com/news/norther...
- In today's Irish Times, my perspective as a former Fulbright scholar and current Programme Director for University College Dublin Environmental Policy MSc programme, where we are seeing significant increases in US/international applicant numbers this year. www.irishtimes.com/ireland/educ...
- Our application period is still open for those seeking environmental policy training in a beautiful English-speaking EU country! Feel free to get in touch to learn more!
- Reposted by Dr. Cara AugustenborgSign of the day…
- Reposted by Dr. Cara AugustenborgRight Now, most of the American can relate to this message from the 90's.
- Not so fun fact: Every hour a person spends in space emits the same climate harming pollution as 2,000-4,600 people on earth (source link below), but today I heard Katy Perry say "everyone should do this to help them love themselves" 🙄 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- Reposted by Dr. Cara AugustenborgHere's a first look at sea surface temperature data from the new NOAA ERSSTv6 dataset... this animation shows the yearly anomalies over the last 100 years. Data available at www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/cmb...
- Reposted by Dr. Cara AugustenborgHoley moley.
- Couldn't have picked a nicer day for a field trip with my UCD MSc Environmental Policy students! Thanks to Baron Randal Plunkett for the personal tour of his novel ecosystem & beautiful estate at Dunsany Castle- to inspire our own campus biodiversity efforts back home!
- Reposted by Dr. Cara AugustenborgI knew it was bad, but not this bad. An entire road through the amazon built for the Climate COP! If anyone is wondering whether this might be the COP to avoid, I would say yes. www.bbc.com/news/article...
- Reposted by Dr. Cara Augustenborginteresting to read a very strong case against liquified gas investments WITHOUT even talking about the dangers of climate breakdown: - running costs are enormous (and households pay) - doesn't prevent weather-related disruption - renewables are so cheap and fast they make it redundant
- Reposted by Dr. Cara AugustenborgThe rise and triumph of the fascist Idiocracy, brilliantly foretold in five frames by @tomtomorrow.bsky.social
- Our final @epaireland.bsky.social-funded policy brief on administrative frictions in Climate Action Plans has just been published, examining the Shared Island Sports Clubs EV Charger Scheme launched in February 2023. To date, no chargers have been installed... 1/X publicpolicy.ie/environment/...
- 227 sports clubs received approval for charger installation but have been in the application process for 2 years with no chargers installed. 2/x
- In this brief, we examined the hurdles sports clubs volunteers have had to go through in this scheme and recommended areas to improve communication & confidence in the scheme (and hopefully trust in Government, more generally). 3/3 More at: publicpolicy.ie/environment/...
- There are lessons to be learned from across the pond... #datacentres #Ireland
- Georgia was about to retire coal plants. Then came the data centers. Utilities nationwide are falling back on fossil fuels to meet huge energy demand. Written by @ejreports.bsky.social . grist.org/energy/georg... #Georgia #Coal #Energy #Climate #Data
- A climate ad at the #Superbowl was not on my bingo card! 👏👏
- Super Bowl ad drives home the critical point: When it comes to acting on climate change #lateristoolate. But SOLUTIONS EXIST. If we act now, we can help protect the people and places we love. Bravo Science Moms & Potential Energy Coalition 🌏🏈
- This article made me so sad for young people in Ireland. Their lives are uncertain & lacking in the joy & hope I remember from my 20s. One even mentioned uncertainty of climate change as a contributor. 1/2 www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...
- Another referred to high cost of Masters degrees in IRL compared to other EU MS. I've seen signs of that in our own MSc prog., and wonder if anyone is tracking this on national scale? 2/2
- Our second of three policy briefs, conducting "sludge audits" to assess the administrative frictions (i.e. "red tape") in schemes within Ireland's Climate Action Plan is live. This one looks at the Solar for Schools scheme to put solar panels on every school in IRL. publicpolicy.ie/environment/...
- Our sludge audit includes a journey map, illustrating the typical steps a school takes to apply for funding for panel installation.
- For school principals, the most significant barriers to programme participation emerged in the contractor quote selection process and the inability to add on to the 6kW of government-funded solar panels.
- To address these barriers, we recommend: -a restructuring of the tender process, -changes to the payment procedure, and -removal of restrictions on solar panel expansion. More at: publicpolicy.ie/environment/...
- Yesterday, our UCD Environmental Policy MSc students toured our campus biodiversity initiatives to inspire their Spring trimester project for my Tools for Sustainable Development module, joined by surprise guest, Eamon Ryan - Frmr G'ment Minister for Climate, Environment & Transport (& UCD alum!).
- Reposted by Dr. Cara AugustenborgRTÉ News has long had a well documented problem with its #climate coverage, but it has improved in recent times. However, as @caugustenborg.bsky.social reports, its coverage of Storm Éowyn has been problematic. www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...
- Reposted by Dr. Cara AugustenborgNot linking extreme weather and #StormEowyn damage to climate change in reporting was a missed opportunity. Even though we don’t yet know how much climate change turbocharged this event, this disruption is consistent with what we expect from a warming world.
