More than €500,000 allocated to Community Climate Action Fund in Clare

CLARE County Council has welcomed the announcement that a new Community Climate Action Fund has been established.

Under the fund, established by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, funding is being made available to organisations and community groups - in Clare and across the country - which are interested in developing projects and initiatives relating to the challenge of addressing climate change.

The fund will be administered in Clare by the local authority.

As an investment under the Climate Action Fund, the overall objective of the Community Climate Action Programme is to support and empower communities, in partnership with Clare County Council, to shape and build low carbon, sustainable communities in a coherent way to contribute to national climate and energy targets.

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The Programme aims to support small and large, rural and urban communities to take positive climate action. This Programme supports direct engagement with communities to both promote and assist in the scale up of community climate action from the respective starting points of the communities. The funding is for investment in small, medium, and large-scale community climate action projects.

Clare County Council has been allocated a total of €572,000 to work in partnership with communities, large and small, rural and urban, within County Clare to build low carbon communities in a considered and structured way while a further €3m is available to support cross-border and all-island community climate action partnerships between community organisations in County Clare and in Northern Ireland.

The Community Climate Action Programme will support the delivery of the new five-year Climate Action Plan for County Clare, which is currently in development. The plan aims to position County Clare as a national leader in climate action and strengthen the delivery of effective climate action at local and community levels, through place-based climate action.

Cllr Joe Cooney, Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, commented: “It is clear that communities in County Clare are eager and willing to take significant climate action. The Community Climate Action Programme places community leadership at the heart of local climate and environmental action. It presents an opportunity for local community groups and organisations, supported by Clare County Council, to play an active role in helping Ireland to become a climate neutral economy and resilient society by 2050.”

Pat Dowling, chief executive of Clare County Council, added: “The Community Climate Action Programme supports community activation and will engage and empower community groups and organisations, in partnership with Clare County Council, to develop projects and initiatives that will inspire hope, interest and passion in climate action. We are delighted to work alongside local communities in County Clare to drive the change necessary to address climate adaptation and mitigation.” 

Siobhan McNulty, acting director of physical development at Clare County Council, said: “This Programme enables communities to get involved in climate action at a local level. Demonstrating local leadership around climate action will be important to ensure that communities become climate aware and are supported to work positively in this area.”

For more information on the Community Climate Action Programme, click here.

The Programme is open for applications from this Wednesday until February 28, 2024.

Contact the Community Climate Action Officer, Kelly Slattery, by email on communityclimate@clarecoco.ie.