Car-free Day Brussels-style

A car-free Chaussée de Waterloo on 22 September 2024

Car-free Day, 2024. I'm in Brussels, and for the first time I'm witnessing what a real car-free day looks like in a major city. 

Brussels gets it right. From 9:30 am till 7 pm, Private cars are not allowed drive on city streets in the entire Brussels Region, including the City of Brussels. The equivalent in Dublin would be taking the full city council area between Ballymun and Booterstown, and saying cars aren't allowed drive there for one day a year. Unthinkable? It depends on the extent of our ambition, but in Brussels it happens, and it works. And that city is certainly no car-free paradise, though they have introduced a low-emission zone, and you can even get a free public transport bonus of up to €1,050 if you scrap an older polluting car.  However on car-free Sunday families, older people, skaters, cyclists, skateboarders and walkers make the streets their own. 

The weather today was overcast today , but by Irish standards it was a balmy 20°C and people were enjoying the late September warmth as they walked down the centre of what are normally busy arterial roads, or stopped to browse at food stalls and flea-markets set-up in streets that are normally packed full of cars.

For me the silence, the clean air and the sight of children taking over the road was a revelation. It showed me that even in the heart of a metropolitan region it is possible on one day a year to tackle the domination of car traffic and emissions. "But what about carers, what about emergencies?" I hear you say. Well, public transport continues to run, and is more dependable, and I suspect much faster when trams and buses aren't stuck behind rows of cars in traffic. And yes, taxis are allowed, as well as emergency service vehicles, and I did see the occasional car moving slowly along calm and quiet streets. The city's website says that "only urgent services, vehicles of public interest and persons with a pass can circulate in the zones where car traffic is forbidden" so it is clear that sensible exemptions are allowed.

Back in Dublin the two-hundred metre long stretch of Customs House Quay between Butt Bridge and Matt Talbot Bridge will be car-free. Two cheers I guess. Could we be more ambitious? Of course we could, but I suspect there just isn't the political will to deliver. It does make for a remarkable contrast. In Brussels an area measuring five kilometres square will be without cars, that's ambition made real. "But the public transport!" Sure, Brussels has a good offering for those who travel by bus, tram and train. Services continue to improve, and as it happens the new number 10 tram route was inaugurated yesterday by the King. 

A dog enjoying the car-free Chaussée de Waterloo on 22 September 2024

 

We can, and should raise our ambition and even consider taking cars out of the section between the North Circular and South Circular Roads in Dublin's inner city for ten hours on just on one day a year. Years ago I remember suggesting to the then City Manager Owen Keegan that we should do more, but his response was that we needed to be more ambitious for more car-free areas and better public transport 365 days a year, not just for one day, and he had a point. However, having experienced the transformative change that Brussels undergoes once a year it shows what could be done if the will was there. The kids that I saw on the streets today were experiencing a freedom that has been unimaginable for generations of Irish children. They even had a 'Kidical Mass' event; as they often do, a huge bike-ride specially for for children in the Bois de la Cambre, the equivalent of the Phoenix park in Dublin. Over the years children have lost much of their independent spatial mobility, and the car-free day allows them, albeit briefly to regain some of that lost freedom.

In Belgium they have strong Regional and Local Government that makes it easier for these type of happenings to be proposed and implemented. I can't imagine Transport Infrastructure Ireland or the National Transport Authority making such a proposal, and we have devolved transport and mobility issues to too many agencies over the years. We need to empower local government with the powers to more easily propose and implement these type of imaginative events. Putting in place a directly-elected mayor for Dublin would be a step towards achieving this. 

A Belgium supermarket celebrates car-free day

Here in Belgium the annual Car-Free Day has been normalised, and even my local Carrefour (The Tesco equivalent) offers you a free gift to mark the day. The event is supported by people in all walks of life, and even though I'm not a great fan of monarchs, it was interesting that the Belgian King Philippe and his 16-year-old daughter took to their bikes in Mechelen on the occasion of Car-Free Sunday, without a trace of high-viz in sight. If you search for the #JournéeSansVoiture hashtag you'll get a feel for how the car-free day has panned out across Belgium. 

 Election Posters on display in Ixelles, Belgium

 

I met a pal for a drink on the place Fernand Cocq in the centre of Ixelles. Local elections will be held on 13th October, and instead of posters taking over the streets there are selected squares where the municipality erects boards for political parties to paste up posters with their candidates' photos and a few words. It seems like a decent alternative to plastering posters on every lamp-post as we do in Ireland. Interestingly the large posters are protected with a layer of chicken wire to deter graffiti artists from leaving their mark.

Today marks exactly twenty years since I first took to blogging my journey in politics. Back then I was similarly upset that we weren't making the most of European Mobility Week in Dublin. I might say 'plus ça change' but actually there have been many positive changes in my home city. Even though cars have got larger, road deaths have halved, but perhaps this has been at the expense of a loss of our outdoor freedom. In Brussels 'Heroes for Zeroes' and other groups are doing good work to tackle the carnage on the roads. The European Transport Safety Council work lobbies hard for legislative change to make our roads safer. We certainly need to restrict the growth in supersized cars that we've witnessed in recent years. Perhaps in twenty years time we'll have a more ambitious car-free Day in Dublin, who knows? Ultimately it depends on political will. On va voir.

Climate, justice, democracy

My words at the Green Party pre-election convention at the RDS, 20th April 2024

I want to talk about climate,  I want to talk about justice, and I want to talk about democracy.

We know what we want to achieve on all three of these, but these are challenging times, and there are stormy waters ahead. Five years ago, the wind was behind us. Today, our actions demand competent leadership and well-trained crew for the strong winds and rough seas lie ahead.

The good news on climate is that in Europe we’ve agreed the Fit for 55 Package, we’re on course to reduce emissions in the years ahead. The European Green Deal survived Brexit, Covid and war in Ukraine and the Middle East. It would not have happened without the Greens in Europe, and the Greens in Government here, and in other countries.

The bad news is that we need to do much more in the years ahead, and we don’t have the critical mass of political support to achieve this. We need at least a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in Europe over the next fifteen years. We cannot slow down or stall our climate action. The far-right are in denial, and the centre right are unwilling to pick up the tab. Not only that, but the centre also-right produced a kill list of climate laws that they did not want to see passed in the European parliament. This cannot be allowed to happen. There is the danger that the window of opportunity in the 2020s will be lost, and that we will repeat the mistake of fiscal austerity from the financial crisis fifteen years ago. The danger now is that it will be a social and environmental crisis, exposing the least-well off to high energy costs, and weather extremes due to climate change in future years. The time to invest is now, and we must not cripple ourselves with fiscal rules into a failure to act.

Justice is at the heart of climate action. We cannot pass the burden of climate action onto the next generation. We must act now to protect our young people. Just yesterday outside Dáil Éireann I met with young climate activists. They are angry that we are not doing enough to help them. It is no wonder that they are turning to the courts to seek justice. Our climate plans must be fairer and faster if we are to avoid a polarised and prolonged battle in the courts. Of course, the European Court of Human Rights should not decide what we do on climate, but if governments fail to act with the speed and depth of response that is needed then I support them.

Democracy is a core value of the Irish people and the European Union. However, we must ensure that it is delivered at the most effective level. When I cycle down Parliament Street in Dublin I see three flags on top of our City Hall. One is Dublin, one is Ireland, and one is that of the European Union. Democracy must be delivered in all three. Ireland is an outlier when it comes to local democracy. It is outrageous that the plebiscite on whether Dublin should have a directly elected mayor has been postponed from being held on 7th June. If we believe in democracy, we should give local government in Ireland the powers and the leadership it deserves, that are the norm elsewhere in Europe. They should be the norms in Ireland too.

Democracy will be empowered by the green transition. Each additional year of dependency on fossil fuels is strengthening the hands of the oligarchs and dictators who supply us with our oil and gas. Every time we erect a wind turbine, or install a heat pump we reduce the power that these people wield. Throughout my work on the Greening Buildings law in Brussels I have said if we insulate homes we isolate Putin. This has never truer than today.

Democracy is under threat at a deeper level in Hungary, in Slovakia and elsewhere in Europe. We must protect democratic values, and we must defend those who are under attack, in Ukraine and in Gaza. We must provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and we must come to the aid of humanity in Palestine.

I will work for a safer world where developing countries receive the support they need, and migrants no longer drown in the Mediterranean. I will continue to insist on support for Gaza and Ukraine.  I will ensure your voice is heard in Brussels. That is my promise to you, and to the people of Dublin for the next five years.

 

Wind energy and nature protection, a win-win?

Speaking at the Wind Europe conference in Bilbao, Spain

I headed to Spain last Thursday from Brussels.

My trip there was to speak at the Wind Europe conference in Bilbao, a massive event with over 12,000 delegates.  I was asked to reflect on whether there is a conflict between high targets for renewable energy under the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), and the strong push to protect biodiversity under the Nature Restoration Law and other European measures such as the Biodiversity Strategy.

I said that both policies need not necessarily lead to conflict, and that it isn’t a zero sum game.  As the North Sea Foundation points out here, as well as Laura Gusatu and others, there are both risks and opportunities. Sure, the target under RED III of 42.5% of the EU’s energy coming from renewables by 2030 is high, and the RepowerEU Plan has even higher ambition of 45%, but they can be delivered, and in doing so we mitigate the impacts of global heating.   However EU Member States will have to rapidly ramp up ambition in the coming years if we are to be successful. I pass by the large Gwynt y Môr wind farm off the coast of Wales quite regularly on my Sailrail journeys to Brussels, and noticed recently that there is currently a second wind farm adjacent to it in the pipeline. I understand how communities are concerned at the impact of this infrastructure, not least their visual impact in scenic areas.

Biodiversity Plans need to be written and approved quickly, energy efficiency measures have to be stepped up, and there needs to be more engagement with Civil Society.  In the Irish context that means  responding to the voices of organisations like the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, An Taisce and the Coastal Concern Alliance.  I said that the setting up of MARA -the new Irish Maritime Area Regulatory Authority is a crucial development, but that we also need to step up our efforts to educe for the future skills that are required in the sector.  I also spoke of the potential for ‘Renewable Energy Communities’.  These are legislated for under the Renewables Directives and can allow local communities to buy in to future projects, and become part owners of projects within their region.

At an EU level we must invest in electricity grids to get from where it is produced to where it is needed.  “There’s no transition without transmission” said one speaker, was it Olivia Breese from Ørsted? And it is true, the EU’s Action Plan for Grids announced last November will help, but the Trans-European Network Plan for Energy needs to be revised to focus more on this.  The in-box of the next European Commission, to be appointed next Autumn will be full.

Seabed surveys using sonar can affect cetacean behaviour, and the Scottish Government has shown how this can be reduced. Construction noise can impact on cetaceans at sea, and the use of screw piles rather than hammer-driven piles can help.  Air bubble curtains can also help ameliorate noise.  During the operation phase low frequency noise can also be an issue, and needs to be carefully considered.

As wind turbines get larger the turbine blades can be higher.  This reduces conflicts with certain bird species that fly at low altitude.  Black paint on turbine blade tips can render the blades more visible and help birds change their flight paths to avoid the blades.  There’s also untapped potential for bird flock radar monitoring during migration periods which can ensure energy providers power down turbines as birds approach to reduce the risk of collisions.  I've seen this in operation in the Netherlands some years ago. All of these technologies go some way to help reduce the impacts on nature.  From Denmark there’s some evidence that the artificial rock reefs at underwater turbine bases can provide a habitat for marine species, though sediment disturbance during construction is a problem.  Once constructed however , wind farms provide significant areas that are protected from bottom trawling, and this can create de facto maritime parks.  

With Belgian colleague Energy Minister Tinne Van Der Straeten

I met my Belgian colleague Energy Minister Tinne Van Der Straeten, and she said we should make greater use of Regional Plans, and I tend to agree.  Ditte Jul Jorgensen, Director-General of DG ENER (the European Commission’s energy unit) said we need to stay the course, and simplify bureaucracy.  In addition, more work is needed on EU Strategic Autonomy.  This can ensure that we are less reliant on China for key components of the renewable revolution.  The EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act will help to push the ‘Made in Europe’ drive, and will provide a more focused response to US President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

At a separate session, I heard Grzegorz Gorski from Ocean Energy spoke of the supply chain challenges within the industry that have been there since the pandemic.  Separately, Trine Boris Bojsen of Equinor’s North Sea Renewables spoke of the need for standardisation within the industry, so rather than jumping at the prospect of 22 MW turbines, we should stick with 15 MW, which incidentally is enormous compared with what was being rolled out a decade ago. 

 

Exhibition Hall at the Wind Europe Conference in Bilbao

It was a lively conference, and I haven’t even mentioned the enormous exhibition halls that displayed new technologies and equipment. Renewables have been a success story for Ireland, almost 40% of our electricity now comes from renewables, and both wind and solar are set to ramp up in the years ahead. As the week drew to a close, we heard of a new Taoiseach-apparent in Ireland, Simon Harris, and from Brussels concerns that the draft Nature Restoration Law may be voted down by the Council of Ministers. 

 It seems the fight for nature will be a crunch issue in the European elections on Friday 7^th June.

 

Burning of the Shipwright guesthouse in Ringsend

Burning down buildings like the Shipwright pub and guesthouse in Ringsend is an obscene act at a time when thousands of people are in need of accommodation.  Up to 14 homeless families could have been housed here before last week's senseless and dangerous attack. This is a serious crime carrying heavy sentences, and the arsonists can and should be brought to justice.

Immigration to Ireland is a good thing. If it weren’t for those who have come to our shores, Ireland could not provide the doctors, the key workers, the carers that we rely on.  From your Dublin Bus driver to the shop assistant in your local Centra, to the surgeons in Beaumont, immigrants keep this country going. But for me it’s also personal. My mother was an immigrant who found a new life and raised her family in Ireland.

And yes, immigration reforms are needed at EU level, including reshaping Frontex, and faster decisions here at home, and better communication, but pushbacks at sea are wrong, and leaving people to drown in the Mediterranean is immoral, and don’t tell me that those seeking international protection in times of violence and persecution do not deserve our help, and don’t give me this ‘unvetted young men of military age’ small-minded nonsense.  

And of course, we need to ramp up housing construction, just like we did almost a century ago when Herbert Simms designed these homes (pan to buildings behind) for Dublin Corporation back in the 1930s, and remember, back then people objected to  homes for those in need as well.

This is a time for compassion, and supporting people who need and deserve safety and shelter - whether those are homeless families or people fleeing violence and persecution abroad.