Council’s Decarbonising Zone selected as ‘Dún Laoghaire and Blackrock’.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has selected the Dún Laoghaire and Blackrock areas, as a new Decarbonising Zone.

View the location map of the Decarbonising Zone HERE.

Dún Laoghaire and Blackrock were selected for a number of key factors including, energy demand profile across sectors, their importance as coastal communities and the presence of a broad variety of local stakeholders.

This zone is set to become the focus for a range of climate action measures, such as the identification of projects and outcomes, that will contribute to achieving national climate targets. These targets are set out in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 and the national Climate Action Plan 2021.

Speaking of the dlr Decarbonising Zone, An Cathaoirleach, Cllr Lettie McCarthy said:

By asking each Local Authority across the country to select a Decarbonising Zone, the Government is acknowledging the ongoing contribution of the sector, working together with local communities, to advance climate action. The Council continues to embrace a ‘Climate First’ approach to the development of the County, and our Decarbonising Zone can become a focus for locally led projects, from which lessons learnt can be shared elsewhere. I look forward to working on this initiative together with Council staff, the Environment and Climate Action Strategic Policy Committee and the Elected Members of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

The selection of the Council’s Decarbonising Zone was undertaken in collaboration with the Dublin Climate Action Regional Office (CARO) and Codema – Dublin’s Energy Agency, and briefings also took place for Elected Members.

Paul Kennedy, Director of Infrastructure & Climate Change said:

'In selecting and advancing a Decarbonising Zone in the County, we continue to align our climate action efforts to Government policy, and in particular the Climate Action Plan 2021. In working towards continued local level action, in collaboration with a range of partners, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, will be making its contribution to our national climate objective, which is the transition to a climate resilient, biodiversity rich, environmentally sustainable and climate neutral economy, by 2050. The DZ will further explore sectoral energy and climate issues and identify a range of projects in the Dún Laoghaire and Blackrock areas, that could be scaled up and replicated elsewhere. We look forward to working with the relevant Government departments, CARO and Codema on the development of our Decarbonising Zone.'

The Council, together with the Dublin CARO and Codema, will work with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on the development of a DZ Implementation Plan, during 2022. Further national level guidance is also expected in 2022, on DZ Implementation Plans and the integration of Decarbonising Zones into guidelines on the development of Local Authority Climate Action Plans.

The Implementation Plan will explore the energy and climate characteristics of the DZ in more detail and will profile and identify projects that can be developed addressing climate mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity. 

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