Council’s 115 actions climate change plan
By Mary Dennehy
SOUTH Dublin County Council has finalised its Draft Climate Change Action Plan 2019, which has a total of 115 actions – such as changing 4,000 public lights to LED by 2020.
The four Dublin local authorities have each developed Draft Climate Action Plans, with South Dublin County Council’s plan due to go to public consultation next month.
A heating project at Amazon's new data centre on Belgard Road aims to reduce carbon emissions by using waste heat
According to Teresa Walsh, the council’s Director of Environment, Water and Climate Change, the plan looks at both Climate Adaption and Mitigation Actions across five areas.
These areas include Energy and Buildings, Transport, Flood Resilience, Natured Based Solutions and Resource Management.
Some of the main targets of the draft plan’s 115 actions are a 33 per cent improvement in the council’s energy efficiency by 2020, a target South Dublin County Council confirmed its “well on the way” to achieving.
A 40 per cent reduction in the council’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 is also a target, alongside making Dublin a “climate resilient region” by reducing the impacts of future climate change related events.
The council also aims to actively engage and inform citizens on climate change.
In recent time, the council has started to pursue a number of key actions, such as the pilot Heatnet project.
This is a district heating project for the Tallaght area, which aims to reduce carbon emissions by using waste heat – in this case, waste heat from Amazon’s new data centre on the Belgard Road.
According to the council, 35 per cent of the current public lighting stock has already been upgraded to LED.
The installation of LED lighting will continue in 2019 and beyond, with a target to replace 4,000 lights by 2020.
Ms Walsh confirmed that there will also be lighting upgrades in council-owned buildings.
County Hall in Tallaght alone has 2,600 lights, which, according to the council, will see a 44 per cent reduction in energy consumption when replaced.
The council’s tree planting programme will continue, with a 30 per cent increase in the planting target for 2019 signalling 1,300 new trees.
The decarbonisation of the council’s fleet has already started, with five fully electric local authority vehicles already on the road.
And, the council is delivering flood alleviation schemes on the county’s main rivers, which includes the Camac, Whitechurch and Poddle Flood Alleviation Schemes.
This flood alleviation work will be carried out with the Office of Public Works (OPW) and Dublin City Council.
South Dublin County Council’s Draft Climate Action Plan will go to public consultation on Monday, February 11 – with the community invited to attend a launch event in County Hall, Tallaght, on February 19 from 6pm to 9pm.
The council is working in conjunction with the Dublin Local Authorities’ Energy Agency, Codema and the Dublin Metropolitan Climate Action Regional Office (CARO).
