Local authorities cutting carbon emissions through thousands of actions

By Cillian Sherlock, PA

Ireland’s local authorities retrofitted more than 7,300 social homes since 2022, saving enough energy to power more than 6,000 households annually, a major climate report has revealed.

The 2024 Local Government Climate Action Key Performance Indicators report tracks how the 31 county and city councils are implementing climate action measures across housing, transport, business, community engagement and emergency response.

The data reveals that 2,634 social homes were retrofitted last year alone, bringing the three-year total to 7,362, cutting 29,336 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Most of those completed last year (93 per cent) achieved a BER rating of B2 or higher, and 91 per cent were fitted with heat pumps.

It also shows that 1,012 active travel projects were active or completed in 2024, including 181km of cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, while councils activated 133 Severe Weather Emergency Response Plans last year, with wind (56 per cent) and rain (27 per cent) accounting for most alerts.

“The retrofitting of more than 7,300 social homes since 2022 is a powerful example of local authorities leading on climate action,” said Frank Curran, chair of the County and City Management Association’s Environment, Climate and Circular Economy Committee.

“These upgrades have delivered significant benefits – cutting greenhouse gas emissions, lowering energy bills and improving living conditions.

“The report illustrates the broad range of activities being carried out by the local government sector and the positive impact these actions are having on addressing this critical issue. Using KPIs to monitor progress helps us to track positive impacts and also holds the sector to account as they highlight areas where it is not performing well.”

Projects already rolled out include a sustainable fashion drive spearheaded by Meath County Council, which has successfully prevented 1,500 items of clothing going to landfill.

In Tipperary, a new “mini-forest” of more than 5,000 trees capable of capturing 65 tonnes of carbon every year, is flourishing on a local housing estate.

Elsewhere, extra EV chargers are being installed and heat pumps fitted at local authority buildings in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

Mr Curran, who is also chief executive of that council, said that in responding to storms such as Ashley, Bert, Conall and Darragh, which swept across Ireland last year, local authorities are being confronted with more intense weather.

“Summers are getting warmer, and last year was the world’s hottest on record,” he said.

The report also reveals that all 31 local authorities had Climate Action Officers and Community Climate Action Officers in place by the end of last year.

Dr Bernie O’Donoghue Hynes, head of research at the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) and lead author of the report, said: “The data highlights that local authorities reduced their CO2 emissions by 34 per cent last year.

“These officials are ensuring climate actions are integrated within local authorities practice and are driving climate action initiatives across county and city council services.

“Almost 4,000 climate-related actions have been identified across the 31 authorities.

“By the end of the year, 178 (5 per cent) were fully completed, 1,152 (29 per cent) were completed but were recurring so commenced again, 1,779 (45 per cent) were in progress, and 842 (21 per cent) had not started.”