Council tackling climate change in Tipp

Tipperary County Council is a leader in energy conservation and collaboration on the bio-economy.

Director of Environment Services Seán Keating informed members about the successful strides being made at last week's meeting of the council in Clonmel.  

“We have improved our energy efficiency by 46% from a 2005 baseline, against a national target of 30% by 2020,” he said. “Increased energy efficiency is part of our effort to mitigate against further climate change by limiting our carbon footprint and reducing our emissions of greenhouse gases.”

Work has now started on the Tipperary County Council Climate Adaptation Strategy, to be finalised this September.

Climate change is already a reality. Not alone do we need to significantly increase our efforts to curb further warming of the planet, but we must also act to mitigate the negative impacts of the human-induced warming that has already taken place.

In the Irish context, temperatures have increased by almost 1Ëš C since 1900; sea level rises have been recorded since the early 1990s, and the timing and distribution of rainfall is changing, as are the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

“Local councils are key players in responding to the challenges posed by climate change,” Mr Keating said. “We play a pivotal role in planning for and responding to emergency situations and possess up-to-date knowledge of the local natural and man-made environment. We interact with local communities on an ongoing basis and are well placed to lead the behavioural changes that are required.”

Tipperary County Council is reacting to the scale of the climate challenge by assigning lead responsibility within the council to the re-named 'Environment and Climate Action' section. The full council will adopt the County Climate Adaptation Strategy later this year. The people of Tipperary will have an opportunity to express their opinion on the draft strategy when it goes to public consultation in the coming months.