Global, National and Local Contexts

The Global Context 

Responding to climate change is becoming a priority of governments all over the world. Its impacts threaten livelihoods, the environment, security, and economic growth. The commitment of national governments to act on climate change is demonstrated by the unprecedented agreement of 195 states to sign the COP21 Paris Agreement. The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report 2018 has underlined the need to meet and exceed the Paris Agreement and achieve meaningful emission reductions before 2030.

'Pathways limiting global warming to 1.5°C... would require rapid and far-reaching transitions in energy, land, urban and infrastructure (including transport and buildings), and industrial systems... These systems transitions are unprecedented in terms of scale, but not necessarily in terms of speed, and imply deep emissions reductions in all sectors, a wide portfolio of mitigation options and a significant upscaling of investments in those options' - IPCC Special Report 2018[6].

Global Risks and Projections

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has shown that 2017 was the worst year on record for extreme climate events[7]. Coastal cities bear the brunt of these storms and consequently face extensive recovery costs. However, strengthening storms are not the only form of extreme weather; droughts, increased rainfall, and freezing weather and snow also present risks to urban and rural areas.

In its Special Report 2018, the IPCC states:

'Climate-related risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth are projected to increase with global warming of 1.5°C and increase further with 2°C'. - IPCC Special Report 2018[6]

The recently adopted United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sustainable Development Goals[8] underline the importance of climate change for an equal and equitable society. All 17 goals can be related to the impacts and opportunities of climate change, with Goal 7 Affordable Clean Energy and Goal 13 Climate Action being particularly relevant.

'Our 2030 vision for Ireland is of a country: that is on-track to achieving a transition to a competitive, low carbon, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable economy by 2050, while also addressing the issue of energy poverty, supported by investment in renewable energy and sustainable transport, together with improvements in the energy efficiency of the built environment' - The Sustainable Development Goals, National Implementation Plan 2018-2020[9]

In addressing these climate change impacts, we need to understand the risks. In the World Economic Forum's 2017 Report on Global Risk[10], four of the top five global risks were related to climate change - extreme weather events, water crises, major natural disasters and failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation. This highlights that climate change is not just an environmental issue, but also a social and economic one that calls for integrated and collaborative responses. 

Heat Waves will occur more often and last longer.

Increased risks of Droughts in Urban and Rural areas.

Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones will become more frequent.

The Ocean will continue to warm and acidify, and global Sea Levels will continue to rise.

The National Context - Ireland

The EU has recognised the risks of climate change and subsequently, Ireland has been set national targets under various EU directives that have been transposed as statutory instruments. These require that certain targets for energy efficiency, renewable energy and GHG reductions are achieved by 2020, namely:

  • A 20% reduction in non-emissions trading scheme (ETS) greenhouse gas emissions relative to 2005 levels
  • Raising the share of EU energy consumption produced by renewable resources to 20% (adjusted to 16% for Ireland)
  • A 20% improvement in the EU’s energy efficiency
  • In line with the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP), the DLAs are committed to achieving a 33% improvement in energy efficiency for their own operations.

New targets for emission reduction have been set for 2030, which remain around 20% for Ireland. This Climate Change Action Plan has been developed with consideration to these international, European, and national agreements, directives, legislation and regulations. These include the Irish government’s Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, National Mitigation Plan (NMP), National Adaptation Framework (NAF), and National Planning Framework (NPF). These various plans are crosssectoral and involve cooperation between numerous national, regional and local bodies; these relationships are illustrated in Figure 2.

Under the National Adaptation Framework, sectoral adaptation plans are required to be prepared and submitted to the Government for approval by 30th September 2019.

Adaptation plans will be prepared for the following sectors:

  • Seafood - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
  • Agriculture - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
  • Forestry - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
  • Biodiversity - Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
  • Built and Archaeological Heritage - Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
  • Transport Infrastructure - Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
  • Electricity and Gas Networks - Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
  • Communications Networks - Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
  • Flood Risk Management - Office of Public Works
  • Water Quality - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government
  • Water Services Infrastructure - Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government
  • Health - Department of Health

The implementation, monitoring and future updates of the Climate Change Action Plan will be consistent with and have regard to approved sectoral adaptation plans and the Council will work in partnership with sectors to achieve and deliver the sectoral plans. The plans will also have regard to the Oireachtas ‘Climate Change: a cross-party consensus on climate action’ report (March 2019) and the Climate Action Plan 2019 To Tackle Climate Breakdown.

Figure 2 Institutional and Policy Context

The Regional Context

Globally, local governments are recognised to be the level of government best suited to address climate change, due to their role in the day-to-day activities of people. The Irish government has recognised this, and local authorities are actively working in consultation with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE) to develop a regional approach to climate action through the establishment of four Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs). The proposed approach groups local authorities based on similar geographical characteristics so that they can address the threats and impacts of severe weather events and ongoing climate change risks within their region.

The Role and Remit of Dublin City Council

Due to provisions in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, local authorities must have regard for the National Adaptation Framework and the National Mitigation Plan in the delivery of services and operations, and produce adaptation plans in accordance with guidance provided in the Local Authority Adaptation Strategy Development Guidelines 2018. In addition, they are asked to assume a leadership role within their local communities to encourage appropriate behavioural change. However, compared to many other countries, local authorities in Ireland are limited in their service delivery and direct legal capacity, and key decisions are often made at the national rather than the local level.

Nonetheless, local planning authorities play an important coordinating role through the formulation and implementation of development plan policies and objectives, and particularly by influencing private sector development through the development management process. In effect, this process helps address mitigation and adaptation requirements, as policies and objectives are implemented in new developments on foot of permissions. County development plans, local area plans and Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) planning schemes can address climate change issues at a local level.

The actions in this plan have been gathered based on this remit. DCC’s focus is on climate-proofing the areas for which it has direct responsibility. In areas outside its remit, DCC will work to support the implementation of the sectoral adaptation and mitigation plans developed by, but not limited to, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (DHPLG), the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS), the Office of Public Works (OPW), the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE), thereby supporting the whole of government approach to climate action. Recognising its role as a climate leader, DCC is committed to leading by example; key to this is implementing and monitoring this plan through the Dublin CARO.

At the Dublin City Council meeting on the 13th of May 2019, the following was agreed to be noted in this plan:

That Dublin City Council declares a ‘climate emergency’; and

  1. Acknowledges that the Climate Change Strategy of the four Dublin Local Authorities states that we must act now if we are to limit global temperature rise to less than 2°C;
  2. Notes with concern that Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions significantly exceed our international commitments and are rising;
  3. Welcomes the establishment of a Climate Action Regional Office;
  4. Reiterates Dublin City’s commitments under the EU Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy initiative;
  5. Calls on national Government, council management, communities and citizens to take appropriate action to reduce Dublin City’s emissions by 5% per year going forward;
  6. Seeks assistance from national Government to move the Council towards carbon neutrality in its own actions at the earliest possible date;
  7. Shall write to the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government seeking assistance in this regard.

Climate Action Regional Office (CARO)

The newly-established Dublin Metropolitan Climate Action Regional Office is one of four regional climate change offices that have been set up in response to Action 8 of the 2018 National Adaptation Framework (NAF) – Planning for a Climate Resilient Ireland. Under the NAF, sectoral adaptation plans are to be developed and implemented that will affect the work of the DLAs. As such, the Dublin CARO will liaise with respective government departments to align actions undertaken by the DLAs with sectoral adaptation plans.

The role of the Dublin Metropolitan CARO is to:

  • Assist the local authorities within the region in preparing their own Climate Change Action Plan
  • Develop education and awareness initiatives for the public, schools, NGOs and other agencies engaged in driving the climate change agenda and contribute to the National Dialogue on Climate Action on a local and regional basis
  • Link with third-level institutions in developing a centre of excellence for specific risks – in the case of the Metropolitan Region, this will be for urban climate effects
  • Liaise and interact with the Dublin energy agency Codema.