SDCC Approve Climate Change Action Plan

Elected members at the monthly meeting of South Dublin County Council have voted to approve the Council’s Draft Climate Change Action Plan. The Dublin Region is facing significant risks and challenges related to climate change. In response to this, each of the four Dublin Local Authorities has worked with Codema - Dublin's Energy Agency and the Dublin Metropolitan CARO office on developing individual Draft Climate Change Action Plans that outline how each local authority will act to prevent and adapt to the effects of climate change.

The Plans identify the main climate risks facing Dublin and outline both the Councils’ and the region’s current levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

They also outline all the actions that are ongoing or planned within the Councils and these are grouped under five key areas - Energy and Buildings, Transport, Flood Resilience, Nature-Based Solutions and Resource Management.

The public consultation for each of the four Draft Climate Change Action Plans was held through a series of events and workshops between 11 February and 25 March this year. South Dublin County Council received a total of 73 submissions during this period. There were 114 actions in South Dublin County Council’s Draft Climate Change Action Plan; a further 17 have been added to the final document as a result of public submissions whilst another eight have been amended.

Daniel McLoughlin, Chief Executive of South Dublin County Council, said,

“The level and detail of submissions received during the consultation period reflect widespread public concern on the urgent need to respond to climate change. South Dublin County Council is determined to do all within its power to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This involves working on our own buildings and operations, whilst also influencing the wider community, other public bodies and businesses. It further requires making the South Dublin County Council area more adaptive to the impacts of climate change.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor

More information can be found on each of the four Climate Change Action Plans at https://dublinclimatechange.codema.ie

About South Dublin County Council

South Dublin County is one of four local authority areas in the Dublin region. South Dublin County Council provides and funds a broad range of services including housing, roads, walking and cycling routes, parks and playgrounds, libraries, sports facilities, litter control, arts centres, enterprise units, fire services, community infrastructure and financial support. It also serves as a platform for local democracy with 40 councillors spread across six electoral areas. Bounded by the River Liffey to the North and the Dublin Mountains to the South, the County lies 16 kilometres south-west of Dublin city centre and has an administrative footprint of 223sq. kilometres. The County has nine main villages Clondalkin, Lucan, Palmerstown, Rathfarnham, Tallaght, Templeogue, Saggart, Rathcoole and Newcastle and is bounded by adjoining counties of Wicklow, Kildare, Dublin City, Fingal and Dún Laoghaire.

About Codema

Codema is Dublin’s Energy Agency and was set up as a not-for-profit limited company by Dublin City Council in 1997 under the SAVE II Programme of the European Union. It was one of 14 local energy agencies set up around Ireland to help local authorities meet their energy performance targets through professional development and implementation of good and best practice. It works with Dublin City Council, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal County Council and South Dublin County Council. Codema's role is defined around the core function of supporting the local authorities in their own sustainable energy use. A second role is engaging with EU and SEAI funded energy programmes to bring innovation to the Dublin region. A third and increasingly important role is to increase energy awareness among the citizens and energy stakeholders in Dublin. Over the years, these three strands have become increasingly intertwined and integrated into a comprehensive local and regional service for energy and climate change.

About Dublin CARO

The newly-established Dublin Metropolitan Climate Action Regional Office (CARO) is one of four regional climate change offices that have been set up in response to Action 8 of the 2018 National Adaptation Framework (NAF). Under the NAF, sectoral adaptation plans are to be developed and implemented that will affect the work of the DLAs. As such, the Dublin CARO will liaise with respective government departments to align actions undertaken by the DLAs with sectoral adaptation plans.

The role of the Dublin CARO is to:

• Assist the local authorities within the region in preparing their own Climate Change Action Plan.
• Develop education and awareness initiatives for the public, schools, NGOs and other agencies engaged in driving the climate change agenda and contribute to the National Dialogue on Climate Action on a local and regional basis
• Link with third-level institutions in developing a centre of excellence for specific risks – in the case of the Dublin Region, this will be for urban climate effects.
• Liaise and interact with the Dublin energy agency Codema.