2.4.3 Climate Change

Climate change is defined as the significant change in the environment due to both natural and human influences. This change has been more significant in recent times due to the negative effect of an increase in greenhouse gases, for example, by the use of fossil fuels for energy.

This is a global issue where temperatures are increasing, sea levels are rising and extreme weather conditions are becoming the norm. In response to these issues, international binding agreements, such as the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015) were undertaken to target reduction in greenhouse gases, emissions and global warming. Dublin City must play its part and aim to reduce its contribution to climate change but also take measures to protect itself from the worst effects of it:

• An increase in flooding, both coastal and inland pluvial flooding, due to high rainfall, continues to impact Dublin. The city landscape has the potential to alleviate this to some degree. In Clontarf, for example, the waterfront promenade park acts as a buffer to sea flooding while city parks and river corridor landscape provide permeable surfaces and natural drainage systems for water to make its way to the sea.
• With increased intensity of development in the city, there will be a greater rate of potential runoff affecting drainage capacity. Greening of development sites and individual buildings provides a means of mitigating this problem and will need to be considered in planning stages of development. Examples of green building infrastructure include living walls, green roofs, rain gardens and permeable paving.
• City-wide greening and tree canopy enhancement, both in public and private land, will assist to reduce carbon emissions due to the uptake and storage of carbon by plants. This, however, will not fully compensate Dublin’s carbon footprint and more innovative ways may be considered, such as woodland planting projects in surrounding counties.