Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O'Brien has approved a new funding proposal of €2 million to support Cork, Dublin and Galway on the EU Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission.
More frequent marine heatwaves and rising temperatures on land and sea along with greater regularity of “extreme” weather events has prompted many calls for greater leadership on climate breakdown from politicians.
The ‘Cities Mission Accelerator Fund’, is described as “a clear commitment from Government to support local government climate delivery”.
The European Commission set up the EU Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission in 2021.
Its aim is to support 100 cities in the EU to become climate neutral by 2030 and to pave the way for all cities in Europe to be climate neutral by 2050.
Cork and Dublin were selected from over 300 cities to be part of the initiative, while Galway City was selected to be part of the EU Pilot Cities Programme.
Cork and Dublin will receive €800,000 each and Galway will receive €400,000 under the new fund.
There has been significant engagement with the cities on the fund which puts forward 21 strategic, "city-led" proposals to assist the cities to reduce emissions, support resilience and adaptation, and improve quality of life in our cities, the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment says.
Examples of projects include extending transport network sensors in Cork City to provide data for demand management of car travel and promote a sustainable modal shift; delivering a series of local events in Dublin City (Eat the Streets) to encourage people to reduce food waste and eat more healthily; and installing a green roof and permeable paving at a local authority owned building in Galway City.
“Local authorities are at the forefront of climate action in Ireland,”O’Brien has said.
“This new Cities Mission Accelerator Fund will support our three largest cities to deliver meaningful, place-based climate action and will assist them on their path to climate neutrality.”
Reaching climate neutrality in these cities will help them to become places which provide citizens with a good quality of life by reducing pollution, providing safer transport, and creating more sustainable communities,”he said.
More information is available on the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment’s website.
