€29.5 million for Irish Community Climate Projects

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien announced the successful projects that have been awarded funding under Phase 2 of the Community Climate Action Programme, alongside an additional €2.6 million in funding to support further high-quality projects from Local Authority reserve lists.

The announcement forms part of the Government’s continued investment in community-led climate action through the Climate Action Fund (CAF), with almost €27 million (over €26.9 million) being made available to Local Authorities – to support communities building low-carbon, sustainable futures.

Irish Community Climate Projects

The newly announced and additional €2.6 million allocation will enable additional large projects, identified by Local Authorities through reserve lists, to proceed in the coming months. Successful projects under this additional funding stream will be communicated to local authorities today.

Announcing the funding, Minister O’Brien said:

“Communities across Ireland are leading the way in climate action, delivering practical projects that reduce emissions, strengthen local resilience and improve quality of life. I am delighted to announce the successful projects under this latest phase of the Community Climate Action Programme, and to provide a further €2.6 million to ensure even more of these ambitious community projects can move forward.

“This programme empowers communities to take meaningful local action on climate change, while also contributing to our national climate and energy goals. The scale of interest and quality of applications received demonstrates the commitment of communities nationwide to building a cleaner, more sustainable future.”

Community climate action – ‘learning by doing’:

The Community Climate Action Programme supports projects and initiatives that facilitate community climate action through education, capacity building and ‘learning by doing’.

Projects funded under Phase 1 of the programme:

Phase 1 of the programme has already supported approximately 650 community climate action projects nationwide.

Projects funded under the programme have delivered a wide range of benefits for communities, including reduced energy costs, enhanced biodiversity, wildlife restoration, improved local amenities and stronger community engagement.

Ambition for Phase 2:

Phase 2 of the programme sees Local Authorities continue to partner directly with community groups to deliver projects that contribute to Ireland’s climate and energy targets, while supporting communities to scale up local climate action initiatives.

Projects supported under the programme address five key themes:

• Community energy.
• Travel.
• Food and waste.
• Shopping and recycling.
• Local climate and environmental action.

The programme is administered through the network of Community Climate Action Officers (CCAOs) in Local Authorities, who provide guidance, support and practical assistance to communities – seeking to become lower-carbon and more sustainable.

The list of successful projects is available at this link: CCAP.

Details on the Phase 2 funding allocated to each of the Local Authorities:

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