Global projects offer valuable models for Ireland's net zero ambitions

Dr Matt Kennedy, transformation expert with IDA Ireland, says sustainable energy, especially offshore wind, presents an opportunity for Ireland to make our society and economy more resilient. He talks to Rita de Brún

In Switzerland, a project by the Swiss start-up company Sun-Ways will see for the first time, trains passing over solar panels installed like carpet, on railway tracks.

The road to net zero is paved with good intentions and conflicting priorities. Daily, we learn of actions and inactions that advance or slow that crucial universal goal.

While 2023 delivered nine consecutive months of the hottest-ever temperatures on Earth, we are heartened by the trail-blazing initiatives that drive progress forward: January next year will see the roll out of an innovation at Switzerland’s western canton of Neuchâtel. The project, by Swiss start-up Sun-Ways, will see for the first time, trains passing over solar panels installed like carpet, on railway tracks.