Laois communities urged to tap into new climate action fund

Laois community groups are being urged to tap into the new Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP) which aims to build low-carbon lifestyles into Ireland's grass roots. 

Laois County Council has been allocated €465,000 by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications to fund projects with a direct climate action impact.

Each Local Authority has appointed a dedicated Community Climate Action Officer (CCAO) to assist interested groups with their applications and to provide guidance on the programme and suitable projects. Groups who are interested in applying should contact their local authority and request to speak to the Community Climate Action Officer about the programme.  

Karen Moore is the Community Climate Action Officer with Laois County Council.

“Community action is at the heart of how Laois becomes a more sustainable county. This funding supports community groups to lead from within their communities in addressing climate challenges at the local level. More information on the fund and the application form are available at Laois.ie," she said. 

Projects selected for funding under the programmes will have to contribute to national climate and energy targets across the following five themes: 

• community energy; 
• travel;
• food and waste;
• shopping and recycling; and
• local climate and environmental action.

Applications are now open for community and voluntary groups who want to do more in their communities to step up climate action in partnership with their local authorities. The programme will enable these groups to take direct climate action through varied levels of funding to support a variety of projects, from small to larger projects, worth up to €100,000 over an 18-month period.

The Department €24 million is being allocated nationally from the Climate Action Fund (CAF) to build low-carbon communities across the country. It says A further €3 million has been allocated from the Shared Island Programme to enable groups to carry out cross-border and all-island climate action projects in partnership with communities/organisations in Northern Ireland. 

Minister Eamon Ryan spoke about the project. 

“I have been visiting local authorities and local climate action groups across the country for the past 18 months and in these visits it is clear that local communities are the real drivers of creative and inclusive climate action across Ireland. With climate action, place is everything.  What works and what’s needed for a coastal community will be different to what works and what’s needed for a midlands community, for example. The beauty of this fund is that the projects funded will come from the ground up, from the people and organisations that know what’s best for their own area,” he said.

More info from the Department for anyone interested.

Laois Climate Action Plan

Local authorities are key drivers in advancing climate policy at the local level. Ireland’s Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act (2021) requires each local authority to prepare a Local Authority Climate Action Plan (LACAP) to meet national climate targets and develop resilience to the impacts of climate change. The local authority climate action plans will help local authorities to address, in an integrated way, the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change adaptation and will strengthen the alignment between national climate policy and the delivery of effective local climate action. Laois' Climate Action Plan is due to be approved in Q1 2024. For more information on the LACAP, go to: https://laois.ie/draft-laois-climate-action-plan-2024-2029/

Government’s Climate Action Fund:

The Climate Action Fund was established on a statutory basis in 2020 to provide support for projects, initiatives and research that contribute to the achievement of Ireland’s climate and energy targets. The fund also supports projects and initiatives in regions of the State, and within sectors of the economy, impacted by the transition to a low-carbon economy. The fund is resourced from sources including official flight emissions offset payments and from proceeds from the levy paid to the National Oil Reserves Agency (NORA) in respect of relevant disposals of petroleum products, after the funding requirements of NORA have been met.

 Strand 1 Community Climate Action Programme – Building Low Carbon Communities: 

Strand 1 is part of the Community Climate Action Programme that launched in 2021 and that will see €61.5 million from the Climate Action Fund invested in community climate action projects and initiatives, as well as capacity building, over a number of years. Strand 1 is part of the first phase that saw €30 million allocated across 2 strands. Strand 2 of the Community Climate Action Programme included €5 million for an open call, managed by Pobal, for education, capacity building and learning-by-doing projects, and €1 million to Creative Ireland for the Creative Climate Action Programme. Both of these funding streams under strand 2 are now closed and in delivery. €31.5 million has been allocated to the second phase of the programme. 

Further information on the Climate Action Fund is available at the following link: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/de5d3-climate-action-fund/. 

Information on the programme is available from each local authority’s website which can be found here: gov.ie - Local Government - Councils and Councillors (www.gov.ie).

Strand 1a Community Climate Action Programme — Shared Island Fund:

Strand 1a ‘Shared Island Community Climate Action’ — funded by the Government’s Shared Island Fund, will address the same five themes as Strand 1 (community energy, travel, food and waste, shopping and recycling, and local climate and environmental action) and have a clear North/South basis, with a cross-border partnership approach and impact. This will enable communities and local authorities to propose a cross-border project in partnership with organisations in Northern Ireland. At least 50% of awarded funding under Strand 1a will be for project delivery in Northern Ireland.

The Shared Island Fund provides ring-fenced resourcing to enable the delivery of the Government’s all-island investment commitments under the Programme for Government and National Development Plan.

 In July 2022, the Government allocated €3 million from the Fund for Shared Island Community Climate Action. This will support cross-border or all-island projects that have a clear North/South basis and contribute to climate and energy targets on the island of Ireland.

Projects will include at least one partner in Northern Ireland and at least 50% of awarded funding will be for project delivery in Northern Ireland.

Further information on the Government’s Shared Island Initiative and Fund is available at: www.gov.ie/sharedisland.

Climate Action Plan 2024 

Climate Action Plan 2024, published in December 2023, is the third annual update to Ireland’s Climate Action Plan and the second such update prepared under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021. The Plan has been approved by Government, subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment, and a public consultation on the Plan will commence in early 2024. 

The plan details actions, measures and policies across a number of areas, including six vital, high-impact sectors:

• powering renewables; 
• building better; 
• transforming how we travel; 
• making family farms more sustainable; 
• greening business and enterprise; and 
• changing our land use.

Local Authority Climate Action Coordinator

 The Climate Action Coordinator manages climate action internally within each local authority, across the local authority sector, and at a regional level through the Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs). A key function of the Climate Action Coordinator is to monitor progress towards achieving targets. This significantly enhances the national evidence base on delivery of the national Climate Action Plan. This evidence base gathered at a local authority level can feed into the national governance structures for delivering the Climate Action Plan. 

Some of the key roles of the Climate Action Coordinator include, but are not limited to, acting as the focal point for climate change adaptation and mitigation action within the local authority; providing technical inputs on funding proposals for climate change adaptation and identifying funding opportunities; working with the CAROs to deliver on the goals of the Delivering Effective Climate Action (DECA) 2030 and the Climate Action Charter; and reviewing, collating, and distributing relevant national policies and documents on climate change, adaptation actions, case studies etc. 

Local Authority Climate Action Officer

 The local authority sector recognises that to support our communities, local enterprises, and the wider public sector on delivering climate policy ambitions, there needs to be a consistent focus on building internal capacity and enabling organisational culture change. Alongside supporting the Climate Action Coordinator in designing and delivering climate action strategies and policies, the Climate Action Officer drives organisational change initiatives. This enables effective delivery, while building capacity across the partnerships local authorities work with. 

Some of the key roles of the Climate Action Officer include, but are not limited to, assisting the Climate Action Coordinator in developing and implementing climate action strategies, plans and policies across the local authority; supporting project teams and elected members in ensuring all local authority level activities are climate proofed; and providing support and advice to all departments on climate action related matters.