Written answers

Tuesday, 8 March 2022

Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Climate Action Plan

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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162. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the total amount of funding committed and drawn down under the Climate Action Fund for each successful project; the overall amount of funding committed to date; the funding allocated for innovative ground-breaking climate projects; if the details of such projects will be provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13084/22]

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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At least €500 million will be available from the Climate Action Fund over the period to 2027 to support projects, initiatives and research that contribute to the achievement of Ireland’s climate and energy targets and goals. In addition, the Government will make major investments through substantial other funding, set out in the National Development Plan.To date, over €140 million has been committed from the Climate Action Fund for a range of projects, including in relation to district heating, EV infrastructure, creative climate action, co-financing for EU LIFE projects, and a Community Climate Action Programme. Through the Community Climate Action Programme, announced in November 2021, €60 million will be invested in community climate action projects and initiatives, as well as capacity building, over the next three years.  Under this Programme, an open call was launched by Pobal in November 2021. A total of 72 applications were received in response to this call and are currently being assessed.

In terms of funds drawn down, 4 projects from the first call under the Climate Action Fund are currently in delivery and eligible to draw down funds. The details are as follows:

Project Approved Funding € Funds Drawn Down €
ESB eCars 10,000,000 2,085,457
Tallaght District Heating Scheme 4,447,952 0
Irish Rail – Hybrid Drive for Inter City Railcar Fleet (Test Phase) €1,120,000   318,000
3CEA Driving HGV Efficiency into Brexit 1,373,400 77,872
Total 16,941,352 2,481,329

Further information on the projects approved to proceed to validation stage under the first call are available at this link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/de5d3-climate-action-fund/.

A further 14 projects have been approved for funding from the Climate Action Fund under the €2 million Creative Climate Action initiative, a collaboration supported by the Climate Action Fund and the Creative Ireland Programme (run by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media).  No funds from the Climate Action Fund have been drawn down to date in relation to this initiative as the Creative Ireland Programme funds are being used in the first place for these projects. Climate Action Fund funds are expected to be drawn down later this year. Further details on the projects are available at this link - www.creativeireland.gov.ie/en/blog/creative-climate-action-fund-projects/.

The remaining commitments mainly relate to projects progressing through validation, projects currently being assessed under the Community Climate Action Programme open call, and projects awaiting the approval under the EU LIFE Programme required to secure final approval to co-financing from the Climate Action Fund.

In relation to innovative projects, innovation has been a key criterion in the assessment of projects for funding from the Climate Action Fund to date. For example, the Tallaght District Heating System is the first of its kind in Ireland and will use waste heat from a data centre to heat surrounding buildings. The Creative Climate Action Fund initiative is seeking to engage citizens in climate action in innovative and creative ways. Innovation is also a key criterion in the assessment of projects under the Community Climate Action Programme open call.

As a next step, an open call will be developed for launch in 2022 aimed at providing funding for further projects aligned with the priorities of the Government's Climate Action Plan 2021. Work on the development of this call will commence shortly. Details on the scope of the call and eligibility criteria will be available on my Department's website in due course.

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