Milestone 4: Implementation

Ownership and implementation of this Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) resides with Dublin City Council (DCC). This plan demands a whole-of-Council approach, as the climate actions listed cut across multiple departments and sections within the Council. There is no single solution; instead, success in combating climate change will be achieved through numerous individual actions.

DCC has established a Climate Team, which aims to gather and coordinate individual actions to address the interconnected challenges of climate mitigation, climate adaptation and carbon-free sustainable energy. The Climate Team consists of representatives from across the departments that are crucial to tackling climate change.

The mandate of Dublin City Council’s Climate Team will be to:

  • Climate-proof existing and future corporate strategies, development plans, and local economic development plans
  • Incorporate climate change into its procurement policies
  • Set up a monitoring and reporting structure, including quarterly schedule of meetings to evaluate progress
  • Gather new actions and develop targets
  • Coordinate work on actions
  • Follow up with respective departments on progress
  • Develop a new action plan every five years
  • Be a point of contact for the public to learn about climate action in the Dublin Region

Codema, Dublin’s Energy Agency, is continuing to provide support to many individual actions in the areas of research, planning, technical assessment, cost-benefit analyses, procurement, project management, funding applications and communications.

It is also clear that climate change is a transboundary challenge; it does not stop at political and geographical borders, and therefore a Dublin regional approach has been agreed by the four Dublin Local Authorities (DLAs) whereby they collaborate closely in the implementation of their action plans. Ultimately, the CCAPs for the four DLAs are the starting point to building climate resilience, through present and future action on climate change throughout the region.

The newly-established Dublin Metropolitan Climate Action Regional Office (CARO) will oversee the implementation of the CCAPs. It is one of four regional climate change offices that have been set up in response to Action 8 of the National Adaptation Framework (NAF). Under the NAF, sectoral adaptation plans are to be developed and implemented that will affect the work of the DLAs. As such, the 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:

  • 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 contributing 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

Internationally, DCC will liaise closely with the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and other established networks of European cities and associations. In association with Codema, DCC will seek technical and financial supports from EU programmes. Private commercial opportunities will be encouraged where possible to deliver solutions. Existing and new third level research partnerships and new areas of research will be incorporated into relevant actions.

Monitoring and verifying progress on the implementation of actions to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions is an ongoing process. Monitoring begins once actions are implemented and continues for their lifetime, providing important feedback that can be useful to improve roll out over time. In order to guarantee the success of this Climate Change Action Plan, the Climate Team within Dublin City Council (working in close association with the CARO) will report directly to the Environment Strategic Policy Committee (SPC), and to the Chief Executive’s Office, through the Assistant Chief Executive for Environment and Transportation. This will help to track regular progress and updating of this Climate Change.