A UK island has just committed to becoming carbon neutral by the end of the decade. Lying six miles off the coast of Northern Ireland, Rathlin Island has only been connected to the electricity grid since 2007.
About 150 people live on the island and they want to produce their own wind and wave energy before 2030, all in a bid to showcase that carbon neutrality can be achieved at a quick pace.
“There are great possibilities now with hydrogen-fuelled ferries and we can produce hydrogen on Rathlin,” said Michael Cecil, chairman of Rathlin’s development and community association. “That achieves two goals. It reduces our carbon footprint hopefully to zero, but it also gives us some security that we’re generating our own energy and retailing our own energy.”
The island’s inhabitants believe that if carbon neutrality can be achieved at this remote location, then it can be achieved anywhere in the world and well ahead of targets set in both the UK and Ireland — a goal that’s becoming ever more urgent to reach.
Underwater farmer Kate Burns, who cultivates kelp in the biodiverse waters off Rathlin, is very aware of the growing threats of climate change. “It’s not something away in the distance. It’s actually something very scary and it’s here and it’s now. It’s the biggest issue of our lifetime,” she says.
