Kilkenny County Council has adopted its first Climate Action Plan.
It was presented to councillors at their monthly meeting this week and outlines the commitments needed to address climate change between now and 2029.
The plan, which includes 95 actions, is a roadmap for the local authority to ensure climate change is to the fore of all decision making.
You’ll find the draft plan here ahead of its full publication but some of its key actions are:
- €511,00 for community grants in 2024 through the Community Climate Action Fund
- €30M investment by the OPW in Flood Relief Schemes in County Kilkenny
- €3.5M investment in converting all 12,000 Public Lights to energy efficient LED lights
- €3M investment in retrofitting local authority buildings
- Establishment of Kilkenny City Decarbonisation Zone, as a test bed for climate action
Speaking to KCLR News, Dearbhla Ledwidge Climate Action Coordinator with Kilkenny County Council, outlined the aim to KCLR News, noting; “We have been preparing this for the last twelve months and now is the stage when the council actually adopt it, it’s a five year plan and it sets out how the council is going to reduce energy, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and inbed climate action and sustainability across the organisation”.
She adds; “Having a plan is really important because that’s the framework and the plan will be implemented by every single service area across the local authority, so each of the service areas were involved in the preparation of the plan and they’ve each identifed actions that they’re going to take whether it’s in roads or housing or community, all towards meeting our targets so we have a target that all local authorities have that we have to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030 and improve our energy efficiency by 50% by 2030 so all of the actions in the plan are helping us move towards that”.
The council’s Chief Executive Lar Power noted; “We will continue to build on, and scale up, the achievements of the Council across all services in delivering climate action. The scale of the task ahead is significant, but we are committed to it.”
While Cathaoirleach, Cllr Michael Doyle, says ‘This Plan creates a pathway for Kilkenny County Council to reach our climate targets and respond to the challenges that climate change poses to the county. We look forward to working with all stakeholders in its delivery”.
