Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 12h🚨 Half of all new cars registered in Ireland in September were fully electric (49.3%)! Car sales here are concentrated in January and July, so a single month is misleading, but I pulled out the BEV sales share for July-September sales for the past years: 2024 - 14% 2025 - 22% 2025 - 35% 📈↗️👆‼️ 59433
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 13hI can't see why grains like this are not in demand at least for those €6 loaves at bougie bakeries. It's not quite strong enough to use on its own for a traditional sourdough-type bread, so some of that Canadian high-gluten flour is still necessary. 131
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 13h(Shamelessly using the opportunity to show off my weekend baking) I'm surprised that the obsession with sourdough and food provenance hasn't caused much of any rise in Irish heritage grains. This fine loaf has ~30% native Olands flour, grown and milled in Kilkenny. kellswholemeal.ie/product/nati... 1132
Reposted by Hannah DalyPhilip Boucher-Hayes @philipb-h.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Ireland imports 80% of its wheat. Not great food security. Concentration on livestock farming elbowed Irish wheat out. Imported wheat and flour add considerably to the cost of living crisis. But new crop science opens the door to Irish grown wheat. Listen: 👉 www.rte.ie/listen/clip/...rte.ieFood Security: BreadOnly the tiniest fraction of the flour needed to bake the 50kg of bread we eat a year is grown and milled in Ireland, and the cost of what we import is sky rocketing. We take a look at what needs to b... 824976
Reposted by Hannah DalyPaul Price @swimsure.bsky.social · 02/10/2026"Today's AIs already have the necessary hacking skills & powers of persuasion to be turned against human interests in seriously harmful ways." "This suggests pacing advances: not training or deploying AIs without a strong safety case that convinces independent experts...AIs that are safe by design." 143
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 02/10/2026The best explanation I've read on AI misalignment, and how it could be a structural issue that can't be patched. 085
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 02/10/2026This is a great explainer, thanks for sharing it. My head is still absolutely reeling from reading this deep dive into what Anthropic thinks of Claude's "mind" and potential for moral character, which I find abhorrent. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/u... 011
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 02/10/2026It's almost hit the really big league - your book is now close to the top of our UCC Climate & Sustainability book club list. It was just pipped by George Monbiot this month. 110
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 01/10/2026Are heat pumps gaining any traction as a heating source in CA? I know your electricity prices are high. 101
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 01/10/2026I am cancelling a class for my BSc Sustainability students next week to take part in a strike action. What readings should I assign them on the theme of collective action? 7193
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 01/10/2026Also, "China is on track to double its data centre capacity by 2030 and 70 per cent of the energy for its data centres comes from coal." - again, why does this imply that it's a good idea for Ireland to double data centre demand and grow them largely with gas? 2284
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 01/10/2026When I spoke at the Oireachtas AI Committee, Deputy Byrne put it to me that my university uses data centres, as if it somehow disproved my opening statement www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/d... 3205
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 01/10/2026"if you are reading this online, you are using a data centre" is a really poor excuse to make Ireland such a hub for data centres that they're threatening the stability of our power grid, driving up fossil gas use and greenhouse gas emissions. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...irishtimes.comDebate: Should we put a pause on data centre development? Lynn Boylan vs Malcolm ByrneOur electricity grid is under pressure, leading to calls for a moratorium on data centres 1110929
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 01/10/2026"With a more expensive and less storable fossil fuel" - nailed it 120
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 01/10/2026And it costs 50% more than the awful drug you're trying to wean yourself off of! 010
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 01/10/2026Here's the liquid gas industry framing its product as a "just transition". This would be sidesplittingly funny if it was not apparent that this message is getting through to politicians. 117328
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 01/10/2026Cutting fuel taxes would be a weak and temporary painkiller, and wouldn't help cure the disease. Generations of houses were built as if oil would always be cheap, plentiful and benign, but those days are well and truly over. 0113
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 01/10/2026I look at some of the worst proposals, like those from the liquid fuels industry to support liquid gas (!) and HVO instead (they have even called this a "just transition", oof). If we use the medical analogy, this would be akin to bloodletting. 181
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 01/10/2026My column in The Irish Times today is about heating oil, and how policy can deal with the awful pain facing households depending on it to heat their homes this winter. www.irishtimes.com/environment/...irishtimes.comCutting fuel taxation in the budget does nothing to cure the diseaseHouseholds need help to break free from home heating oil for good 23010
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 29/09/2026Genuinely great to see solar, heat pump and retrofit grants targeting vulnerable homes. It's also good to see the boiler scrappage scheme come immediately rather than in January. I'm sure a lot of people retrofitting right now, and the companies, are relieved they will qualify. 0348
Reposted by Hannah DalyJennie C Stephens @jenniecstephens.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Our new article on his decades of corporate capture made US universities vulnerable to current attacks. 042
Reposted by Hannah DalyGlen Peters @glenpeters.bsky.social · 25/09/2026"Current [El Nino] forecasts suggest that the 2026 event could push global mean surface temperatures in 2027 to almost 1.8°C above pre-industrial levels" 😱 Good rundown of El Nino impacts via @zekehausfather.com www.nature.com/articles/d41... 14719
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 24/09/2026Because richer houses are likely to have higher houses heated to higher temperatures, and therefore use more oil. Fuel price reduction through tax cuts is the least progressive policy; better is to give everyone a flat payment (like electricity credits), best is targeted payments. 110
Reposted by Hannah DalyAdrian Hiel @adrianhiel.bsky.social · 24/09/2026As someone who spent 14,400 euro on a heat pump earlier this year with no grants I look at those 14,500 euro in grants with a lot of envy. I just hope the installation market doesn't stall now for 4 months as people wait for them to become available. 193
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 24/09/2026Supports also need to be expanded to those who currently can't benefit - it's scandalous that there is still no minimum efficiency standards for renters, for example. 1112
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 24/09/2026Until recently, homes were built as if oil will always be plentiful, cheap and benign. Rectifying this error requires that the retrofit programme continue to be expanded. 1120
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 24/09/2026Targeting the extra scrappage grant at older boilers is also smart - boilers fail suddenly, typically in the middle of winter when there's no time to plan an upgrade to a heat pump. 272
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 24/09/2026Instead, financial supports should be targeted at those who are in hardship, while helping them to get off oil in the first place. 150
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 24/09/2026The extra incentive is welcome. Retrofitting is the only way to address energy security, affordability and security all at once. Cuts on fuel taxation - including the carbon tax - are weak, temporary and ineffective, and will mainly benefit richer households. 262
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 24/09/2026The war in the Middle East has added around €700 to a full tank, making it a painful winter ahead for many. Rural homes will be the hardest - larger, often poorly insulated and typically heated by oil. 270
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 24/09/2026Minister Darragh O'Brien has announced a €2000 oil boiler scrappage scheme for older boilers, on top of grants up to €12,500 for heat pumps. I spoke on Morning Ireland about the latest incentive to get Irish homes off heating oil. www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...rte.ieGovt to propose boiler scrappage schemeKieran McCarthy, Director of KMC Homes in Cork, and Hannah Daly, Professor of Sustainable Energy at University College Cork, discuss the decision by Energy minister Darragh O'Brien to bring a boiler s... 24218
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 18/09/2026We will talk about writing a thesis without AI like our forefathers talk about walking to school barefoot. 130
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 18/09/2026While all attention is on AI and its impact on our brains, energy grids and economy, and whether it will literally kill all of us, is any leader taking climate change seriously any more? AMOC collapse would be *absolutely devastating* and is only one of profound impacts climate change brings. 25214
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 17/09/2026I wrote an essay, cautioning university students on the use of GenAI for coursework. I hope it's of use. zenodo.org/records/2281...zenodo.orgThe dangers of using AI for coursework: A warning to university students 43011
Reposted by Hannah DalyNicolas Hénin @nicolashenin.net · 17/09/2026Nice campaign by the Norwegian Consumer Council about the declining lifespan of products. Enjoy! 180140796478
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 11/09/2026The German car industry also supports about 2 million jobs indirectly though its supply change. This framing of Irish data centres being the "energy intensive industry" is just the latest narrative. 170
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 11/09/2026Congratulations Eoghan! I got your beautiful book in the post - thank you. May it be widely read. 1162
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 03/09/2026I wonder if the kind of large-scale grassroots pushback against data centres, the kind that has been tipping election results, will emerge in Ireland? 3326
Reposted by Hannah DalyKatharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 26/08/2026Glaciers in the Himalayas are rapidly retreating under climate change, leading to widespread formation and expansion of glacial lakes and increasing the risk of glacial lake outburst floods. To date, more than 388 GLOF events have been documented in the region 😰 Source ⬇️nature.comGlacial lakes and GLOFs in a warming Himalaya-Karakoram region: current understanding, challenges, and the way forward - npj Natural Hazardsnpj Natural Hazards - Glacial lakes and GLOFs in a warming Himalaya-Karakoram region: current understanding, challenges, and the way forward 26918508
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 27/08/2026I'm just going to rob this €100 out of your wallet. Why are you complaining - it's only 0.1% of your annual income? 1223
Reposted by Hannah DalyRóisín Moriarty @roisinmoriarty.com · 18/08/2026This was such a great paper to work on, with a great team, so I was delighted when we got the news yesterday that is has been selected as standout open access Irish research paper for 2025 @ioppublishing.bsky.social As @colmduff.bsky.social makes clear in his article below, methane is methane. 174
Reposted by Hannah DalyPatrick Bresnihan @pbresnihan.bsky.social · 11/08/2026In the name of competitiveness and defence, the EU is going backwards on climate action. €800 billion has been committed to prepare for war by 2030, far outstripping anything that is being invested in climate resilience and a green transition. This is madness. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...irishtimes.comOpinion: Europe needs to start treating the climate emergency as a threat to our national securityIdea that climate action is about individual responsibility is as ridiculous as suggesting everyone can equip themselves to fight in war 04020
Reposted by Hannah DalyPatrick Bresnihan @pbresnihan.bsky.social · 06/08/2026The Government commissioned a €100k report by KMPG not to inform policy but to 'provide the evidence base that supports the position that we should continue to further develop our data centre landscape post 2030.' That is reckless and negligent. www.thejournal.ie/data-centre-...thejournal.ieConcerns over supporting data centres ahead of transport or housing scrubbed from government reportSeveral aspects which questioned continued investment in the sector were later cut from the final version released to the public. 55325
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 06/08/2026Hugely excited to welcome our first students to the new BSc Sustainability this September. In my column today, I set out my case for this new kind of interdisciplinary degree. www.irishtimes.com/environment/...irishtimes.comThe climate crisis needs conductors, not just virtuososThe answers to big global challenges can’t be found within single disciplines 34316
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 07/07/2026The narrative is that data centres support renewables growth, but renewables are not an end in themselves. Renewables don't bring decarbonisation, energy security and affordability if they are directed to support an isolated sector rather than to replace fossil fuels across our entire economy. 311238
Hannah Daly @hannahdaly.ie · 07/07/2026Concerningly, I have not seen a published integrated assessment of these trends against the stated government policy to radically reduce reliance on fossil fuels, or against statutory climate and energy targets, or on its impact on household bills. 16910