The Lie of the Land: A Game Plan for Ireland in the Climate Crisis

Shortlisted for Non-Fiction Book of The Year, Irish Book Awards 2025

'Explosive' Irish Times

‘Well-argued and well-written’ Matt Cooper

'A bracing critique' The Currency

A passionate case for reimagining Irish farming and agriculture in the age of climate change, from a respected environmental journalist.

Ireland has tended to think of itself as a ‘Goldilocks’ country: not too hot, not too cold, and well positioned to ride out the climate emergency. But this is a fantasy: the effects of climate change in Ireland will be profound, and at the moment we’re not doing nearly enough about it. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Ireland has the wherewithal to dramatically cut its emissions while making itself far more resilient. This book shows how it can be done.

Above all, we must reimagine the ways in which we use the land. The agrifood sector accounts for 38 per cent of Ireland's greenhouse emissions – and just 7 per cent of gross national income. As John Gibbons shows, Ireland's dramatic shift towards the most polluting food sectors – driven by a small number of agribusiness giants and facilitated by the state – benefits the few while imposing huge costs on the many. It doesn't have to be this way, and Gibbons, who grew up on a mixed farm, shows how we can embrace a low-emissions farming model while preserving farmers' livelihoods, making the countryside a better place to live, and delivering something Ireland conspicuously lacks: food security.

The Lie of the Land is a bracing critique of the bad decisions that have put Ireland into such a vulnerable position, and a devastating dissection of the wishful thinking and outright dishonesty that have propped up the status quo in Irish agribusiness. It also offers an inspiring vision of how – through a revolution in farming, development of renewable energy (including our vast offshore wind resource), and a dramatic acceleration of moves to decarbonize transport and housing – we can prepare for the new realities of the climate crisis.

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‘An education for anyone baffled by the rows that bedevil climate policy in Ireland and a glimpse at the alternatives to the business - as - usual approach. But mostly, it's a plea for honesty around topics when hiding from the truth has for too long been the national approach.’ Irish Independent

‘Compelling and impassioned … eye opening’ Sunday Independent

‘Read this exposé of malicious planetary negligence and be inspired to act before it’s too late’ Michael Mann

‘Offers some clear ideas for an Irish path into a safer future – the time for climate complacency has come and gone’ Bill McKibben

‘A benchmark book … the inside story from a great author of Ireland's failure to take the threat of climate change seriously’ Prof. John Sweeney