Concern Over Local Govt Ability To Deliver Climate Action

Concerns have been voiced that local authorities across Ireland are not prepared to deliver the appropriate climate action needed.

This comes after a Climate Action Charter was signed with every Council in the state yesterday, 29 October, to drive forward meaningful climate action.

Despite welcoming the establishment of the Charter, the Green Party has expressed worry over whether local government is resourced for the challenges that lie ahead.

According to the party's Local Government spokesperson, Cllr Malcolm Noonan, the charter makes no reference to the biodiversity emergency and that including the line 'in so far as is practicable' with reference to measures to reducing carbon emissions, is a get out clause from making difficult decisions.


"Ultimately we have a serious governance and resourcing issue to making this charter a reality. We have the most centralised and underfunded local government system in Europe. Politically it is clientelist in structure and the skills do not exist within local authorities to build participative democracy and support young people in particular to be agents of change," he said.

"We see this charter as a first step, albeit late in the day. In order for this charter to be realised on the ground, we need a deep and meaningful commitment by the CCMA and Central Government to place trust in local government to deliver and to give power to local communities to lead an urgent process of change."

Cllr Noonan has called on the next government to introduce a number of sweeping reforms to address the issue. These include reinstating a tier of urban local governance, expanding the powers of local authorities towards mobility management and modal shift in transport, establishing EU units within every local authority to participate in European municipal projects and research and in being able to micro finance renewable energy and sustainability projects.

(CM/JG)