COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, March 14, 2011
MOTION NO. 4
MOTION: Councillor C. Keane
That this Council recommends that South Dublin county Council signs up to The Covenant of Mayors which is a commitment by signatory towns and cities and counties to go beyond the objectives of EU energy policy in terms of reduction in CO2 emissions through enhanced energy efficiency and cleaner energy production and use.
REPORT:
South Dublin County Council has been very pro-active in recent years in the area of developing and implementing sustainable energy initiatives.
The South Dublin Sustainable Energy Strategy 2008-2011 is an energy action plan to achieve improvements in our energy systems and supplies in the interests of greater efficiencies, long term sustainability and limiting our impact on climate change.
The South Dublin County Council Climate Change Strategy 2009 was developed through the Environment Strategic Policy Committee in accordance with the National Climate Change Strategy 2007-2012 to promote best practice in relation to climate change issues.
There have been a range of SDCC-led initiatives in relation to our Housing Stock and Municipal Energy Supply aimed at increasing energy efficiency including an ongoing Council housing refurbishment programme (boilers, insulation, and windows) and re-tendering of the municipal energy supply. SDCC has also piloted individual renewable technologies such as solar, biomass and CHP in public buildings.
SDCC has also led the planning and implementation of new large scale rail-based Sustainable Communities inAdamstown and Clonburris, where the focus has been on land-use and transport integration as well as up-front facilities provision.
The Tallaght Pilot Energy Study 2010 was the first step in the preparation of a baseline inventory of energy consumption for the entire county to inform future policy and strategy. This inventory was the first stage in the preparation of a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) for South Dublin County as required by the South Dublin County Council Development Plan 2010-2016. The purpose of the SEAP is to show how this Council can achieve its CO2 reduction target by 2020. It is required to include actions concerning both the public and private sector operating within the geographical area of the plan.
South Dublin County Council has registered with the Energy Management System (MAP) supported by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) which enables the management and monitoring of all initiatives through the appointment of an Energy Champion and interdepartmental Energy Team. The Energy Team within the Council has met relevant energy stakeholders within Tallaght Town Centre with a view to exploring the possibility of establishing a local sustainable community network in Tallaght using the Pilot Energy Study as a starting point for these discussions.
In addition, South Dublin County Council is part of a project team with partners from several EU countries co-ordinated by the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) which sought EU funding for a Local Energy Action Leadership Project under an EU IEE call for bids. A major part of this is to prepare a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) for South Dublin County. The EU has approved the bid in principle and negotiations are now taking place on the detailed actions required.
As part of the SEAP preparation process South Dublin County Council will register with the EU ‘Covenant of Mayors’, an ambitious European Commission initiative directly targeting local authorities and their citizens to take the lead in the fight against global warming. All Covenant of Mayors signatories make a voluntary and unilateral commitment to go beyond EU objectives in terms of reduction in CO2 emissions.
Local authorities have a key role in mitigating climate change. Over half of greenhouse gas emissions are created in and by cities. 80% of the population lives and works in cities, where up to 80% of energy is consumed. Local authorities, being the closest administration to the citizens are ideally positioned to understand their concerns. Moreover, they can address the challenges in a comprehensive way, facilitating the conciliation between the public and private interest and the integration of sustainable energy into overall local development goals, be it development of alternative energy, more efficient energy use or changes in behaviour.
Local governments must therefore become leading actors for implementing sustainable energy policies, and must be recognised and supported in their effort. The Covenant of Mayors gives the lead to Europe's pioneering cities to mitigate climate change through the implementation of intelligent local sustainable energy policies that create stable local jobs, increase citizens' quality of life and address crucial social issues. The formal commitment of signatories is translated into concrete measures and projects. Signatory cities undertake to report and being monitored on their implementation of their Action Plans. Signatories also commit to allocating sufficient human resources to the tasks, mobilising society in their geographical areas to take part in implementation of the action plan, including organisation of local energy days, and networking. The Covenant also affords valuable opportunities to share experience and best practices with others.
The attached document sets out the terms and conditions of joining and the following link provides access to the Covenant of Mayors website which includes a Frequently Asked Questions section - http://www.eumayors.eu/home_en.htm.
In order to make application to join the Covenant of Mayors, a resolution of the Council is required which commits the Council, amongst other things, to submit a Sustainable Energy Action Plan including a baseline emission inventory which outlines how the objectives will be reached, within one year of formally signing the Covenant. The basis of the EU Project bid envisages the SEAP to be completed by mid 2012 therefore a formal signing of the Covenant of Mayors would be premature before mid 2011 at the earliest in order to give sufficient time for the very extensive work involved in preparing the SEAP and submitting it to the EU within the timescale required.
This matter will be kept under review and a further report will be brought to the Council recommending the adoption of the necessary resolution, when appropriate, in order to comply with this timescale.