Why thinking local is crucial in meeting the climate crisis challenge

Local authorities are taking a leading role in tackling the climate challenge, embedding climate action in their own operations and leading climate action across their areas and communities. They also play a pivotal role in climate adaptation and in responding to climate emergency situations, such as storms and extreme weather events.

In 2020 the local government sector developed Delivering Effective Climate Action 2030, a strategy to maximise the 31 local authorities’ collective impact on the State’s climate action targets. The strategy aims to leverage the capability, reach and resources of local authorities to effectively lead and co-ordinate climate action across the State.

The mission of local government is to deliver transformative change and measurable climate action across cities and counties and within its own organisations, through leadership, example and mobilising action at a local level. Local authorities are also key drivers in advancing climate policy at the local level, having significant responsibility under the National Climate Action Plan and the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act.

Climate action plans

As required under the act, all local authorities have prepared a Local Authority Climate Action Plan to meet national climate targets and develop resilience to the impacts of climate change. These plans help to address, in an integrated way, the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change adaptation, and strengthen the alignment between national climate policy and the delivery of effective local climate action.

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Local authorities have climate action teams in place to support them in achieving their climate action targets, driving climate action strategies, plans and policies across the local authority, providing support and advice to all departments and ensuring activities and projects are climate proofed.

Each local authority has appointed a dedicated community climate action officer to support the Community Climate Action Programme, which funds community projects with a direct climate action impact. Projects selected for funding contribute to national climate and energy targets across themes such as community energy, travel, food and waste, shopping and recycling, and local climate and environmental action.

Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs) were established in 2018 to help local government to respond and adapt to climate change. They support local authorities to co-ordinate and deliver climate actions and to develop their local authority climate action plans.

Each CARO is operated by a lead local authority. The regional structure of the CAROs is designed to ensure that the counties within each area share similar geographical and topographical characteristics and climate risks.

The four CAROs and lead local authorities are: Atlantic Seaboard North, Mayo County Council; Atlantic Seaboard South, Cork County Council; Dublin Metropolitan Region, Dublin City Council; and Eastern and Midlands, Kildare County Council.

Each office, led by a CARO coordinator, works closely with the local authorities in their region to guide and inform them as they lead transformative change and measurable climate action in areas such as transport, biodiversity and preventing coastal erosion.

They help local authorities to deliver climate policies and behavioural change within their own organisations and to empower citizens, businesses and neighbourhoods to better understand the impacts of climate change and to embrace the need for climate action.

Climate action in action

Among the climate action areas the local government sector has focused on in recent years are measures to improve energy efficiency, including through upgrading to LED public lights, for example, and retrofitting social housing stock to lower their carbon impact.

They explore and support economic opportunities arising from climate action and the efforts needed, both locally and nationally, to transition to a low carbon economy.

They provide a comprehensive climate action training programme for 30,000 local authority staff and elected councillors.

They put in place active travel teams and initiatives and support the move to electric vehicles and public transport. They also support climate action in the community in a variety of practical ways. This includes, for example, sand dune protection initiatives, on the basis that sand dunes provide natural coastal protection against storm surge and high waves and help prevent or reduce coastal flooding and structural damage to properties behind them.

Even with the national public conversation in relation to sustainability, none of it is going to work without local authorities. Their role cannot be underestimated

—  Stephen Prendiville, Deloitte

Some local authorities are piloting the use of cold-applied road markings too, as a way to reduce the carbon footprint on road improvement and maintenance projects. Others are looking at alternatives to commonly used pesticides and herbicides in public parks and urban green spaces. Leaving areas to be naturalised that would previously have been treated with herbicides results in increased species such as clover, daisy, dandelions and nettles which in turn support pollinators and other invertebrates.

Leaving grasses grow to full height provides a habitat for insects which are a food source for species further up the food chain such as birds and bats.

The roll-out of local-authority-led bicycle sharing schemes helps reduce carbon emissions from transport, making longer cycle journeys more accessible and providing health benefits to the cyclist as well as the environment.

In Wicklow County Council’s offices, a solar array canopied over the car park helps to power the building.

The strength that local authorities have in helping to combat climate change should not be underestimated, says Stephen Prendiville, sustainable infrastructure leader at Deloitte Ireland.

“We can fall into the trap of thinking it’s all got to be about national policy and, of course, when it comes to things like energy grid there obviously is a national context, but local authorities have an enormous role to play too,” he says.

Sustainability “isn’t about one thing – it is about one million choices”, Prendiville adds. By their actions and example, local authorities have the power to lead citizens and communities into making more sustainable choices.

Currently there is much talk internationally about the value of the 15-minute city, wherein services are within easy reach of everyone, ideally on foot or bicycle, as a way to reduce carbon emissions and enhance quality of life overall. As it happens, many Irish people in cities and towns around the country already enjoy 15-minute communities, Prendiville says.

“Everything from EV chargers to district heating to promoting the circular economy in how we encourage waste collection are all by their nature local. Local authorities and how they show up all help communities to feel that sustainability is part of their identity,” he adds, pointing to the success of the Tidy Towns initiative as perhaps the archetype of this kind of community spirit in action.

“Even with the national public conversation in relation to sustainability, none of it is going to work without local authorities. Their role cannot be underestimated in terms of how they can facilitate communities to engage in it,” he says. They have so many levers they can pull.”