Sir, – Some of the responses to his article last week (Opinion, June 30th) so exercised Michael McDowell that he felt compelled to return to the subject in order to explain to us why he was right and his critics were wrong.
The concentration this week (Opinion, July 7th) is on what Mr McDowell describes as "irreconcilable energy goals" associated with the building of data centres against the background of our challenging objective to decarbonise energy sources.
It is true that we have an enormous task on our hands to end the dependence on fossil fuels in line with international commitments. And there is a pressing need to look at the viability of data centres in the context of the energy transition.
He is not a lone voice on this issue at all. In fact, Eirgrid’s chief executive has backed the case for a review of data centre policy (News, May 7th).
The problem with Mr McDowell’s attitude is not that he identifies difficulties and contradictions. That’s fair enough. It’s his solution that is questionable. He asserts that it would make very little difference were we to adopt “less ambitious climate change targets”.
We should be “content to have a comfortable and less demanding place in the chasing pack”. But this would be unconscionable. It would set us back even further than we already are. The pressures, contradictions and challenges were all very clear to me, [as a Labour minister], when I had responsibility for energy policy for a period following our recovery from the economic crash. We were only then beginning to reconcile the competing policy imperatives of economic development and decarbonisation.
But surely the task now is to work to reconcile economic wellbeing with clean energy rather than throwing up our hands in despair. By all means ask the questions. They are real, and the answers will not come easily. Standing back and doing little or nothing is not an acceptable solution.
– Yours, etc,
ALEX WHITE,
Terenure, Dublin 6.