Report brands carbon taxes as 'regressive' and calls for climate policies to be 'poverty-proofed'

Sadhbh O'Neill, environmental activist, researcher and lecturer in Environmental Law said "socio-economic disadvantage makes some communities and households more vulnerable to the effects of both environmental pollution and the policies that are intended to address it". Photo: Moya Nolan

All climate and energy policy decisions should be "fully poverty-proofed", with marginalised groups such as Travellers, low-income, and migrant communities not having their voices heard despite being largely in the firing line.

Those are some of the conclusions of a major new report from Dublin City University (DCU) climate experts, which also found that "legal costs and the lack of civil legal aid are significant barriers to public participation in environmental decision-making".