Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 strengthens the role of local authorities for effective climate action. It sets out a statutory requirement for each local authority to prepare a local authority climate action plan.

The local authority climate action plans must be consistent with the most recently approved national climate plan and include both mitigation and adaptation measures. I requested each local authority to begin preparation of their plans on 24 February last. I issued the statutory guidelines to support local authorities in preparing and implementing their local authority climate action plans on 6 March this year. As per the guidelines, each local authority climate action plan must include a decarbonising zone, DZ. A separate annex has been developed to assist local authorities with preparing their decarbonising zones. Once the local authority climate action plans have been approved by each local authority, implementation of the actions listed in the plan, including the DZs, will commence.

While my Department has had no specific, direct engagement with Galway City or County Council in relation to the local authority climate action plans in 2023, I understand that the Environmental Protection Agency engaged with Galway City and County Council regarding their local authority climate action plan at the SEA scoping stage in October this year. Also, the Electricity Supply Board has planned engagement with Arup which is assisting Galway city in the production of an energy master plan for the city and a DZ implementation plan for the west side area.

I have been engaged and have been going to every single council across the country to discuss the climate action plans. I found that very useful. I talked to both management and councillors. One thing I would say as feedback, based on my sense of that, is that they need to be more ambitious in terms of showing leadership. I mentioned climate adaptation earlier and local authorities stepping up in terms of flood protection as part of our adaptation system. That is an example. However, I believe also in mitigation and reduction of emissions. It should not be just about how we manage our street lighting, although that is important, or how we manage our garbage vehicles or other council trucks. They have to think strategically about how their county and their towns and cities can become centres of excellence and can gain from this as an opportunity by showing leadership, thinking big, thinking strategically and thinking about what economic advantage may come from decarbonisation, not just taking a narrow interpretation that it is their own emissions within the council operations. They should think, act and deliver plans that are bigger than that.

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