RTÉ television programmes should reveal their carbon footprint, according to Minister for Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan. Speaking on Monday, he said he supported such a move in line with BBC programmes which indicate their environmental impact.
Mr Ryan said the Green Party had always backed “low-carbon filming”. In the current circumstances, “every sector has a responsibility – every industry – [to indicate their carbon footprint] including broadcasting, entertainment, news”, he said.
All BBC shows track their carbon footprint using an online tool call the Albert calculator.
On the issue of the new Late Late Show presenter Patrick Kielty planning to commute to Dublin from London to present the show every week, which featured in media coverage at the weekend, Mr Ryan said he did not have any particular issue with that.
He said Kielty had delivered a remarkable speech at a recent dinner in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement, which was moving, profound and personal. “If he can do that on the Late Late every Friday, I’m less concerned about where he is coming from,” he added.
