Kerry has a mountain to climb as it prepares for the coming storm
In a county revered globally for its breathtaking scenery and its butter, neither tourism nor agriculture is immune to the world’s worsening climate crisis.
Already, people and businesses across the Kingdom are seeing “increased flooding, drought, fire … storm frequency and intensity” according to Kerry County Council’s climate action co-ordinator, Brian Harding.
By experiencing those climate-related risks and extremes in their work and daily lives, Mr Harding said, “people are noticing it”.
“We’re also seeing changes in phenology – things like flowering [early],” he added. “Then there’s the challenges and economic consequences.
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“It’s borne, not just by the council, but by the State; the individual. It’s borne by the family. It’s borne by the banks and the loans that might have to be given to help you recover. And it’s borne by insurance companies.
“We’re definitely seeing a larger financial impact, which then has a knock on impact on livelihoods.”
But Ireland’s fifth biggest county is not innocent when it comes to these impacts. Human activity in Kerry added some 2,490,633 tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution to the atmosphere in 2018, according to council analysis.
That’s equivalent to producing almost 96 million kilos of ground beef, according to OpenCO2.net.
While you won’t find a statistic for Kerry’s total emissions in its Climate Action Plan, Mr Harding was able to provide it following requests from the Irish Independent.
Agriculture, which uses around half the county’s 4,807 sq km, was responsible for the lion’s share of those emissions at 1,217,370 tonnes (49pc). Eight per cent of employment in Kerry comes from agriculture, forestry and fishing, according to the action plan.
Kerry was home to at least 8,500 cattle and sheep farms in 2023, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), including 1,383 dairy farms with 100,143 cows. Pigs and poultry also play a role, but the figures provided are for the whole southeast.
After agriculture, transport was the biggest emitter in 2018, responsible for 20pc of emissions, followed by residential at 14pc.
Transport emissions will be no surprise, as 64pc of commuters drive to work, 10pc walk, 1pc bike and 7pc use public transport – figures lower than the national averages for cycling (3pc), walking (14pc) and public transport (13pc) and higher than for car use (58pc).
Agriculture is responsible for almost half of emissions in the county. Photo: Getty
Meanwhile, in the council’s chosen decarbonising zone, Dingle/Corca Dhuibhne, about 97pc of homes use oil, coal and turf for home heating, with just over 3pc using wood.
While the county is widely seen as a leader in wind energy, CSO figures for 2024 show over 80pc of people still use fossil fuels to heat their homes.
Even though the Government rolled out programmes to help homeowners and tenants make the move to electrical home heating, just 6,315 properties in the county were upgraded between 2019 and 2024, according to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
All this activity, or lack thereof, is having an impact.
Flooding from rivers and heavy rain damaged buildings and infrastructure, disrupted transport, and caused a potential bridge failure in 2020, while coastal erosion and related flooding in 2020 and 2022 damaged heritage sites and wastewater treatment infrastructure.
Kerry suffered droughts and heatwaves in 2018 and 2020 that damaged road surfaces, strained water supplies, and had detrimental impacts on freshwater quality, fish populations and the frequency of wildfires.
Five of the county’s 10 wettest years since records began have been in the last 15 years
The coastal county is also being hit more frequently by severe storms that bring down power lines, disrupt internet and phone connections, and damage buildings and infrastructure.
In its climate risk analysis, the council said the highest temperature experienced in Kerry to date was 32C – recorded at Dooks on July 18, 2006 – and five of the county’s 10 wettest years since records began have been in the last 15 years.
Sea levels are also rising 2mm to 3mm a year, and average rainfall is up significantly.
The Kingdom has a mountain to climb if it is to ward off the worst climate crisis impacts and save precious world heritage sites like the Skelligs.
A recent OPW and National Geographic Society report shone a light on dangers posed to the Unesco site and to its birds and vegetation.
Junior heritage minister Christopher O’Sullivan says Skellig Michael’s beehive huts, which attract thousands of visitors a year, are “a treasured part of our heritage and a significant and well-preserved icon of our history”.
Conservation of Kerry’s natural beauty is also dear to community groups like Maharees Conservation Association (MCA), the first Irish group supported by the EU’s Climate-Adapt programme for its work to reduce coastal erosion.
MCA chair Martha Farrell said: “What’s special about us is that we were really community led. We brought in partners, but ultimately the ideas and solutions came through us. We captured hearts and minds.”
When it comes to slashing emissions, winning hearts and minds will also be something the county council must do.
Mr Harding said: “No one individual institution, business or technology can solve emissions.
“The challenges then become working together in partnership and agreeing what we do together, and then financing those big things.”
For the council, that means retrofitting its own buildings, electrifying its fleet, encouraging workers to reduce mileage, meeting energy efficiency targets that are just 2pc off their 2030 target and swapping street lights to LEDs.
Kerry already has its first net-zero building in Tralee’s Áras an Chontae, which has an energy rating of A1, and a 50kW solar photovoltaic system that provides more power than needed.
“People are very, very proud of that building,” Mr Harding said.
In terms of transport, he said Kerry is “geographically challenged” and needs more EV infrastructure, but added: “I think the big one for Kerry is the greenways. That links both with transport and tourism.”
He also believes funding to help communities is having real impact: “In my own community of Knocknagoshel, the community got a grant for solar panels that led to less cost.
“A direct saving from the [electricity] bill led to employment and more finance going into the community.”
In the county’s decarbonising zone, non-profit community enterprise Dingle Hub is spearheading an anaerobic digester scheme to transform local waste into gas. It’s also hoped district heating schemes can be introduced in the tourist hotspot.
Mr Harding said: “The tourism sector is already acknowledging the impact of climate change in Kerry. There’s a lot of positive things happening with renewable energy training, staff, water management…
“When we set our minds to it, we are not too bad at making investments fast.”