Feasta has made a submission to the consultation on the Rio +20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development which you can download below.
This submission was made by the Carbon Cycles and Sinks Network. It describes a possible framework for a Rural Environmental Protection-type framework which would reward farmers for practices that were likely to lead to their reducing their GHG emissions and also increasing the carbon content of their soils and the biomass growing on them. It suggests that best farming practice is re-assessed in the light of its climate effects and sequestration potential and re-defined if necessary. Farm payments would be made conditional on the adoption of these new best practice standards. No attempt would be made to pay farmers for …
The Smart Taxes Network has just submitted an Implementation Paper to the Irish Government which aims to provide policymakers with guidance on the implementation of Site Value Tax in Ireland, assessing actual and possible obstacles, and providing solutions. You can read a summary and download the full report here.…
Feasta recently made a submission to the Irish Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government on their guidelines for Sustainable Residential Developments in Urban Areas.
In general, we welcome these Guidelines and Urban Design Manual as they comprise a good outline of current best practice, an improvement on the current situation. But we fear that the Guidelines are too late; they address an economic reality that is rapidly changing; they largely ignore pressures in rural areas and they are not ambitious enough to properly address the energy, climate and social challenges currently facing Ireland.
