Irish Examiner view: 'Robot trees' a costly gimmick?

Cork City Council has said they are not intended to replace real trees. It also plans to plant 1,300 trees, although its latest project has rightly prompted calls to plant very many more

The first of five high-tech 'CityTrees', aimed at combating fine dust particle pollution and other pollution associated with traffic congestion has been installed on Patrick Street. Picture: Cork City Council

If nothing else, the €350,000 ‘robot trees’, installed in Cork city centre to tackle air pollution, will get people talking and thinking about the climate crisis.

They have been dismissed by atmospheric scientist Dr Dean Venables as a costly gimmick that fails to tackle the real issue — the need to reduce emissions. He is certainly right to say we must concentrate on emissions rather than try to claw back some of the pollution after the fact, yet this is also a time for innovation and action.