'Back on the bottle' as Laois County Council reports on battle for climate action

One year into the first ever Climate Action Plan for Laois, the steering committee are reporting they are "well on the way to meeting our goals".

The plan which lasts from 2024 to 2029, has 173 eco friendly actions listed to fulfill, to cut emissions, protect the environment and defend agains floods. 

"That's more than double a lot of other counties. We have actioned 79 so we are well on our way to our goals," a representative of the climate action team reports.

The first annual update was given at the March meeting of Laois County Council. 

The climate team handed out reusable water bottles to the 19 Laois councillors at the meeting, complete with their names monogrammed and with lids that turn into eggcup style cups. It is aimed at phasing out single use plastic water bottles in council meetings, introduced during Covid. 

"It's nice to see we're back on the bottle again," quipped Cllr John King.

Among the goals already achieved is launching the BOLT electric bike rental scheme in Portlaoise.

"There have been 20,000 trips since its inception, with 43,000 km travelled," said.

Portarlington, Mountmellick and perhaps Graiguecullen will follow, because the action is to "roll out bike share scheme in the larger urban areas over population of 5,000" by 2029.

Another action begun, is for the council to retrofit its social housing to a B2 standard. So far 46 were complete, 53 are underway, costing €9.5million, or €39,000 on average per home. 

"On average the tenants save €45 a week," the climate report states.

All of its new houses must be Near Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) or A2 BER rated, and in 2024, it built about 150 homes to this standard.

They held a Climate Action Festival last October to teach the community skills, and last year gave €465,000 to 16 community groups for local climate action, like the PV solar panels and batteries for the roof of Fr Breen Sports Park, Abbeyleix.

"Phase two of the climate action fund will be this year," Ms said.

The plan must identify and develop plans for a Decarbonising Zone, to lead the way for all Laois towns, with Portlaoise chosen. So far 33 of the 59 actions are ticked off, including increasing green spaces in the town, adding pollinating flowers to roundabouts and protecting the cycle lanes on the Borris Road to schools.

Laois County Council as a business must also clean up its act, showing the way for other companies. It has cut energy usage by 51.2% compared to 2018 levels. It must cut greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030 and so far its CO2 emissions in 2023 were 37% lower than the 2018 baseline.

At least one of its Heavy Goods Vehicles must be converted to vegetable oil by 2027.

There are six actions focused on heavier rainfall due to climate change affecting Laois. The council has committed to increasing its budgets on clearing pipes, fixing bridges and maintaining rivers by 1% a year. It says it will continue to support the development of OPW flood protection schemes in Mountmellick, Portarlington and Clonaslee.

They plan Greening Your Festival support in Laois, with advice on waste minimisation and rubbish sorting, starting at the Trilogy Triathlon on April 12 by handing out refill cups and bin toppers.

The Laois County Council CEO is Michael Rainey.

"You can see the quality of work, we have a very strong team here. We've a role as a local authority but we are also a resource for the county, if any group needs support, reach out," he said.

Laois County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Padraig Fleming said the work done so far is "fantastic".

Cllr John Joe Fennelly is chair of the Climate Action Strategic Policy Committee.

"We had our second meeting a couple of weeks ago. The amount of work being done is phenomenal. Laois is going in the right direction," he said.

Cllr Ben Brennan said a lot is focused on Portlaoise, but "in Graiguecullen there is nowhere to charge an electric car".

"If I buy a car in Laois I have to go to Carlow to charge it. It's great for Portlaoise but think outside it," he urged.

"We hope to emulate Portlaoise across the county, it's a demonstrator town," the climate team spokesperson said.