Limerick council welcomes new national Climate Charter goals

A CHARTER signed today for local authorities to take urgent climate action has been welcomed by Limerick City and County Council.

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton, TD, and the Minister of State, Sean Canney, TD signed a Charter this Tuesday, committing local governments nationwide to driving forward “meaningful climate action” in their communities, according to the Climate Action Plan.

“Limerick City and County Council has taken a proactive approach in working on Climate Change,” said a council spokesperson, “there is a Strategic Policy Committee specifically for Climate Action, Biodiversity and Environment, which held its first meeting last week.

The Climate Action Plan, published earlier this year, is the government’s plan to ensure we meet our 2030 climate commitments, putting us on a trajectory to be net-zero emissions by 2050.

The Charter being signed today is a key action in the Plan and will ensure every local authority embeds decarbonisation, sustainable development and climate resilience into every aspect of the work they do.

Minister Bruton said: “The public sector leading by example is a central pillar of the Climate Action Plan. I am determined that government, both at central and local level, will lead the way in our response to the climate challenge.”

“Local Authorities are uniquely placed to drive forward effective climate action at both the regional and local level. Given their pivotal role across the key sectors of planning, housing, transport and waste and their close relationship with the community, they have a crucial role in implementing the step change that is needed and influencing many more to address this challenge.”

Minister of State Canney said: "The key to achieving our Climate Action targets is to bring everyone with us. Local authorities are a focal point for our communities, villages, towns and cities and their support for this charter reflects the whole of society approach we need to take to transform our economy from brown to green.”

The Charter commits Local Authorities to several actions that will ensure that they play a key leadership role locally and nationally in delivering effective climate action.

Among other commitments, all local authorities will:

• Put in place a process for carbon proofing major decisions, programmes and projects on a systematic basis, including investments in transport and energy infrastructure
• Deliver a 50% improvement in energy efficiency by 2030
• Ensure all suppliers provide information on their carbon footprint and steps they plan to reduce its impact
• Build local citizen engagement, particularly with young people
• Partner & collaborate on climate action initiatives with local community groups, local enterprise and local schools and higher-level institutions
• Monitor, evaluate and report annually on the implementation of activities under the Charter

"The local authority sector is to look at where it is able to generate opportunities, which can provide more efficient and effective services while at the same time reducing our energy consumption," added the council spokesperson. 

Limerick is already leading the +CityxChange (Positive City Exchange) EU Project which is looking at the potential to revolutionise how we produce and use energy in European cities and towns.

It will see the ‘Georgian Neighbourhood’ in the heart of the city become a testbed for data collection and a range of new technologies that will transform it into a positive energy city centre where it creates more electricity than it uses.