COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, January 14, 2013

MOTION NO.5

MOTION: Councillor E. Tuffy

That South Dublin County Council welcomes the publication by the Government of the Climate Change Adaptation Framework, notes the emphasis in the Framework on the role and obligations of Local Authorities in regard to policies and measures to develop Climate Change Adaptation Strategies, and requests the Manager to make a Report on the Council's response to the Adaptation Framework, including how she intends to include the Framework in the review of the County Development Plan, and the review of the Council's Climate Change policy.

REPORT:

In 2009 the European Commission prepared a White Paper on Adaptation to Climate Change.  The Commission is currently preparing an EU Adaptation Strategy for publication in 2013.  EU policy on climate change adaptation guides Irish policy and the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government has now published the National Climate Change Adaptation Framework.  This is intended to provide the policy context for a strategic national response to the challenge of climate change.  The Framework requires the preparation of draft local and sectoral plans in consultation with stakeholders.  The over-arching objective of these plans is to identify and implement changes necessary to address the many impacts of climate change in order to protect people and jobs, increase resilience and ensure transition to a competitive, low-carbon future.

The first phase of this strategy is already focused on identifying national vulnerability to climate change evaluating likely impacts against current adaptive capacity. The Environmental Protection Agency is the focus of the preparation of data and evidence bases necessary to enable this work.  In the second phase, sectoral plans will be consulted and prepared by the relevant Government Departments and Agencies and these will be published in draft by mid-2014 at the latest.  Spatial planning processes will be the arena for integrating and implementing climate change objectives.  Local development planning will become the mechanism for delivering local climate-adaptation actions.  This will involve adaptation reviews of existing Development Plans being underway by mid 2014.  The Department of Environment and the EPA have committed to the preparation of guidelines for integrating adaptation strategies into Development Plans and Strategic Environmental Assessment to facilitate these reviews.  Adaptation plans will identify criteria for review, as well as timescales, mechanisms and staff available.

The preparation of the next South Dublin Development Plan will commence in early 2014.  The new Departmental Guidelines will be in position by then and the adaptation strategies will be fed into the process of the new Development Plan in line with the government timetable set out above.