Irelands Climate Action fund for Communities, building low carbon, sustainable communities.
About this good practice
The Climate Action fund (CAF) was established to aid and financially support projects which will help Ireland achieve its climate and energy targets. The Climate Action Fund will provide at least €500 million in government funding up to 2027 towards this aim.
The Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP) will see €61.5 million from the CAF invested in community climate action projects and initiatives, as well as capacity building over a number of years. The CCAP supports small and large, rural and urban communities to take climate action at a local level
Donegal County Council (DCC) in association with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications will provide funding to local communities for projects that promote community climate action.
The objective of the CCAP is to build low carbon, sustainable communities, which will, in turn contribute to the national climate and energy targets.
Under Strand 1 ‘Action: building Low Carbon Communities’ €24 million is being provided to all local authorities to partner with community groups to run projects that will contribute to national climate and energy targets. DCC allocation of nearly €700k will see 100% funding available for
• Small scale projects <€20k
• Medium scale projects €20k - €50k
• Large scale projects €51k - €100k
The 5 themes of the programme are as follows:
1. Community and Energy
2. Sustainable Travel
3. Food and Waste
4. Shopping and Recycling
5. Local Climate and Environmental Action
Resources needed
In Donegal County Councils case almost €700k has being allocated to the local authority to provide 100% funding to community groups to run projects that will contribute to national climate and energy targets.
The local authority will administer the fund.
Evidence of success
To date, 20 local authorities have moved into delivery under the programme and are beginning to make announcements across the country.
Overall, 20 projects totalling €700k were selected by Donegal County Council under Strand 1 and have been offered a grant agreement. Projects include Solar PV installations, Garden Polytunnels, Community Gardens , Bike racks ,LED Lighting and biodiversity projects.
Community Groups have 18 months to complete their projects from October 2024 – April 2026.
Potential for learning or transfer
The Community Climate fund, which is provided to local authorities to partner with community groups, provides amounts of up to €100,000 to larger local projects over an 18-month period. It is paying for initiatives like the installation of renewable energy systems, the development of community gardens, or the installation of EV chargers, bike racks, water refill stations, composting, lighting upgrades or rainwater harvesting to name just a few of its purposes.
The Minister for the Environment , Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan has said that "Place-based solutions deliver climate actions that really work because they are developed and underpinned by local authority leadership and community ownership.”
This best practice could be easily transferred to other regions by using local authorities to deliver climate action funding to communities.
Further information
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications