Bandon student bids to make a difference at Cop 28

A UNIVERSITY student from Bandon is attending Cop 28 in Dubai, where his interest is on ways to curb emissions from food and agriculture systems.

Cian Walsh, a political science student at UCC, is attending the global event as a delegate with Eco-Unesco representing Ireland’s youth voice.

The 18-year-old who grew up on a mixed farm is passionate about sustainable agriculture and when he was a TY student in St Brogan’s, along with his sister, he won the Eco-Innovation Award at the Eco-Unesco Young Environmentalist awards final with a project titled ‘Hemp for a Sustainable Future’. The project was about promoting the social, economic and environmental benefits of growing hemp and how the crop can promote sustainable farming in Ireland.

The initiative focused on strategically engaging with a wide spectrum of stakeholders to foster environmental sustainability. This included engagement with national representatives, farmers, the Dept of the Environment, Climate Action and Communications, and subsequently on an international level with UN representatives.

‘My motivation for attending Cop 28 is that it’s an incredible chance to project youth voices further on a national stage, and to put forward the urgency young people feel about climate action,’ said Cian who is one of several young people from West Cork attending the global event.

‘I also want to project the rural voice and ensure there’s a just transition, not just for people with an urban background but for people in rural Ireland and rural areas all over the world who are being asked to make a lot of changes, but are not being given support they need,’ he said.

Given his research on hemp, he feels there are alternative land uses for farmers, such as hemp and miscanthus, which he feels the government aren’t being proactive about. ‘It will be about bringing back ideas that Ireland can learn from.’

Former Schull Community College student Mair Kelly, class of 2018, is also attending Cop 28 as policy specialist for World YMCA.