COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, January 10, 2022

QUESTION NO.8

QUESTION: Councillor R. McMahon

To ask the Chief Executive what measures are the Council taking to educate and actively encourage the citizens of the county to reduce their carbon footprints.

REPLY: 

In 2019 South Dublin County Council published it Climate Change Action Plan 2019-2024. The CCAP defines our targets on CO2 reduction and improvements in energy efficiency in our operations. The CCAP contains 130 actions that will help progress South Dublin County Council towards carbon neutrality by 2050.

South Dublin County Council and all Local Authorities are recognised as uniquely placed within communities to provide leadership on Climate Action and to support our citizens in in their personal endeavours to reduce CO₂ emissions and to build resilience against the effects of Climate Change.

Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 is an ambitious goal, however it is a national target that will demand significant investment and cooperation between all sectors including public, private and individual households. South Dublin County Council is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 while ensuring that our journey adheres to the principles of just transition.

As the Local Authority, we lead by example. We are working to ensure that our own buildings, infrastructure and operations do not waste energy. We achieve this through upgrading heating systems and lighting with modern energy efficient technologies, and by monitoring and reviewing our energy consumption including electricity, gas and diesel. To date we have achieved an improvement of 45.7% in energy efficiency over our baseline figure. We publish our improvements and savings annually in our energy review.

South Dublin County Council has been actively upgrading the Building Energy Rating (BER) of our social housing stock. Earlier phases included a programme of replacing windows and doors, improving ventilation and upgrading insulation. The current programme will focus on deeper retrofits of heating systems and installation of solar panels. While this work will be carried out on our own social housing stock, it will present opportunities and inspiration for private home owners to improve the fabric of their own properties and benefit through grants from the SEAI and savings on increasing fuel prices. South Dublin County Council have provided Home Energy Saving Kits in our libraries. These kits which can be withdrawn from the libraries include instruments to help identify opportunities where improvements can be made and guidance on appropriate solutions.

We understand and acknowledge that carbon emissions from transport are a major concern for our citizens. We rely on fossil fuels to transport our families to schools, work and recreation. South Dublin County Council is working with the TII and NTA to develop a range of alternative transport options to private car use.

The Cycle South Dublin programme of works being rolled out over the next 8 years will develop over 260 km of high quality cycle routes strategically linking residential developments with schools, employment centres and essential services.

We are also working with the NTA and Dublin Bus to develop the Bus Connects project to improve the local bus services and encourage a shift from private car use to more sustainable modes of transport.

SDCC are working with key stakeholders to deliver a Dublin Region Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy.

SDCC are currently preparing the next County Development Plan. The CDP and associated documents will provide guidance to ensure that all development in the county is designed and completed in a sustainable manner to help reduce CO2 emissions over the entire lifespan of the development.

Our natural play spaces have been developed to promote creativity and provide healthy alternatives for our younger citizens to engage in outdoor activity. 

The inaugural Dublin Climate Action Week (DCAW21) took place from 13th - 19th September 2021. Organised by the four Dublin Local Authorities, the Dublin Climate Action Regional Office (CARO) and Dublin’s Energy Agency Codema, the week comprised a programme of over 100 online and in-person events which aimed to inspire, share knowledge and highlight best practice in climate action. Events such as the Sustainable Living Workshop, Let’s Talk Climate Action Workshop and the Circular Economy Event held Rathfarnham Castle Park aimed to inform and educate citizens how to live more sustainably and reduce their impact.

The Sustainable Energy Community programme is run by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Ireland’s national energy authority. South Dublin County Council is working with Sustineo, the appointed mentor for communities in South Dublin and Codema, Dublin’s Energy Agency to facilitate and support homeowners, sports clubs, community centres, local businesses and churches transition to Sustainable Energy Communities.

SDCC will provide bridging finance to support communities to develop their Energy Masterplans. The cost will be recouped from the SEAI.

South Dublin County Council has also committed to providing financial support for sustainable energy projects identified in Energy Masterplans and deemed beneficial to communities under the SDCC Climate Innovation Fund. Awareness campaigns helping individuals, families and communities reduce their food waste are ongoing. As food waste is a significant contributor to climate change, reducing it is one of the simplest and most effective ways householders can reduce their carbon emissions. Recent campaigns include Summer BBQ Food Waste with Catherine Fulvio and Reduce Food Waste at Christmas.

Our Climate Innovation Fund was used to deliver a series of workshops to community groups and organisations interested in learning how to develop and implement climate action and carbon reducing strategies at home and at local and community level.

Our climate action team produces and circulates quarterly newsletters on ongoing climate action projects in South Dublin. The climate action newsletter is supported by regular social media updates on community opportunities and projects.

We are currently developing a South Dublin County Council Climate Action Website. The website will present viewers with progress reports on our projects, information on local initiatives and resources on how to get involved and manage local community projects.

Through our public consultation process, we engage with all sectors of society, we provide a platform for citizens to raise their concerns or seek clarification on aspects of our plans. Recent public consultations were held on the County Development Plan, Cycle South Dublin, Flood Alleviation Schemes.

The climate action team collaborate with local schools and clubs to help promote and instil sustainability into lifestyles. We promote cycling at schools through safety training and cycle bus programmes. We encourage schools to participate in the Green Schools programme. We engage with schools on air quality projects including Schools Streets and WeCount. Our climate action team regularly meet and cooperate with Comhairle na nÓg on climate and biodiversity projects.

The climate action team engage with the South Dublin Chamber to coordinate and support projects that can benefit our business partners. Our Climate Innovation Fund has been used to develop a Green Business Training Programme to facilitate businesses and SME’s with on-site resource efficiency assessments and toolkits to help reduce waste, improve efficiency and ultimately reduce the impact of businesses. Businesses are encouraged to participate in networking events to help disseminate knowledge and experience and become climate action leaders within their own communities.

SDCC will continue to engage with our community groups and business partners in 2022 to help reduce CO2 emissions across the County.