Following Kilkenny’s victory over Cork in the All Ireland Championship Semi Final, fans are being asked to reduce their carbon footprint on the final assent to Croke Park in September.
In what has become the annual September pilgrimage to Croker by Kilkenny fans, Green Party Councillor Malcolm Noonan is asking supporters to join with the GAA in its efforts to make Croke Park Carbon Neutral by 2009 and to support the ‘Cúl Green’ initiative set up recently by the organisation.
Cúl Green calls on supporters to pledge to make energy saving reductions in their every day lives in areas such as home heating, transport, use of household appliances and using renewable energy sources. By making a pledge the amount of carbon saved can be calculated and go towards reducing the overall carbon emitted by fans travelling to Croke Park.
‘It can become as competitive as the games themselves’ stated Cllr Noonan, ‘the top counties are published on the GAA’s website in a sort of Carbon All Ireland! So far Limerick is the top county with Dublin second. I would hope that with Kilkenny in the All Ireland Final that supporters here will get behind the campaign and become All Ireland champions in reducing our carbon footprint as well as hurling champions’, he said.
The target set for 2009 is to reduce emissions by 4,500 tonnes and so far over 3,000 pledges have been made. Fans who make the pledge will also be placed into a draw for Al Ireland final tickets, a small incentive but the reduction in environmental impact to ensure future generations can enjoy our National Games should be the real incentive according to the Green Party Councillor.
‘The devastating floods of the past few weeks should be proof enough if it were needed that climate change is now happening at a pace that has even shocked meteorologists. I would like to commend the GAA for once again being at the forefront of a community initiative to tackle the problem’ he stated. ‘If the largest voluntary sporting organisation in the country can take on the climate challenge, then surely the business community, state agencies and more importantly every individual in the country can make a positive change in their daily lives. The GAA’s Cúl Green initiative is a practical step in the right direction and I would ask Kilkenny supporters to make the pledge ahead of the final in September’ he concluded.
www.gaa.ie
www.culgreen.ie
