Natural Assets and the Green Environment • Kerry, with a large rural hinterland presents an ideal base for any pilot project involving the transition to a low carbon economy, especially as there is a large, productive land base. Additionally, Kerry has a large supply of organic materials from its larger urban centres like Tralee, Killarney and Listowel, Killorglin, Castleisland, and Kenmare as well as having excellent links to north Cork and west Limerick. There is also a large Industrial Food processing presence. There is an abundance of tacit knowledge and network strength in the bioeconomy area thanks to a wealth of agri-business and private activity in the area, and these businesses would be very keen to use the resources of the region – human capital/IP, physical assets, and the local environment to lead out on focused transitional projects, particularly but not limited to Anaerobic Digestion/Biogas production and Thermal Processing/Biorefining. Kerry is ideally situated to be a Centre of Excellence for developments in the Agri-Food and Waste Biomass Processing industry, the learnings from which could be replicated elsewhere in the county and beyond. These efforts would put the region on a more sustainable and future-proof path economically, socially, and environmentally, contributing to a strong County Development Plan but also aligning to National and EU policy on climate change, energy production, land use and biodiversity. Kerry County Council should warmly welcome planning applications furthering these ambitions and determined to grow economic activity and employment sustainably and innovatively. The nearness of the new Munster Technology Campus in Tralee, which houses the Agritech Centre of Excellence (ACE), and the Southwest Bioeconomy Cluster is focussed amongst other things on Circular Economy solutions is also another compelling rationale.