Maynooth Carbon calculator
An Taisce is pleased to acknowledge the excellent collaboration received from the staff at Maynooth University and those associated with Maynooth Green Campus initiative in developing the carbon calculator. This will give the people of Maynooth an indication of the pathway to a lower carbon future for the town, something essential for the present and future citizens and students of Maynooth and Ireland. Maynooth can be a leader in this challenge and help shape its own future. There is probably no town in Ireland better equipped to make informed decisions about choosing a future, given its rich educational assets and data sources, its historical and current diversity, and its long-standing tradition of climate awareness", Emeritus Professor John Sweeney.
The data was prepared in such a way that we could then examine what the consequences would be of various interventions in terms of reducing the overall carbon footprint of the town. For example, what would be the estimated reduction in carbon emissions if every house in Maynooth were to be retrofitted to, say, a B1 BER rating, etc.
Professor John Sweeney said, 'I'm pleased to announce that the Maynooth Carbon Calculator is now operational. As you know, Maynooth has been designated by Kildare County Council as its Low Carbon Town, and we in the #Legacy4Life project are anxious to record the community's preferences for collective action to reduce emissions. So anyone who lives or works in the town is welcome to express their mix of preferred actions using the calculator which can be found at: co2.terrainai.com
But a few minutes playing with the calculator may be quite thought-provoking and help the local and national decision-makers plan for the transition we all face. We invite everyone to interact with the carbon calculator!
Kevin Horan is a PhD researcher at the Hamilton Institute, part of the SFI CRT in the Foundations of Data Science program, and my field of research is spatial data science. Kevin has been working with spatial data to bring together the various strands of information concerning carbon emissions to calculate the baseline emissions for the Maynooth area.
Emeritus Professor John Sweeney, ICARUS, Department of Geography