Community Climate Action Programme
The Community Climate Action Programme is a new programme to support small and large, rural and urban communities to take climate action at a local level. Kildare County Council, in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications will support communities to promote and assist in the scale up of community climate action.
Grant Guidelines Available Here.
The overall objective of the programme is to shape and build low carbon, sustainable communities in a coherent way to contribute to national climate and energy targets. There are two strands:
Strand 1- Action: Building Low Carbon Communities:
Kildare County Council have been given an allocation of €897,000 for projects under strand 1. Under this scheme communities will partner with Waterford Council to carry out projects that have a direct climate action impact.
Strand 1a- Shared Island Community Climate Action
This strand enables communities and local authorities to carry out a cross-border project in partnership with a community in Northern Ireland. Unlike strand 1, Local Authorities have not been automatically allocated funding under strand 1a and is open for all communities to apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some FAQs about the programme.
How will the programme work?
A number of projects will be selected which demonstrate climate action at a local level in Kildare. Local communities will be selected following an Expression of Interest phase and will carry-out their direct climate action projects over 18 months. Projects can include a suite of measures, not just one specific action.
Who can apply?
Eligible communities must be a not-for-profit; be located in the operational area of the Kildare County Council; and be registered with a PPN or connected with other collectives such as the Wheel, Tidy Towns and /or a community group with Articles of Association or a Constitution, which hold an AGM, and for which approved minutes are available.
What projects are eligible?
Projects must demonstrate the delivery of national climate action at a local level for strand 1 and on a cross-border basis on the island of Ireland for strand 1a. There are five programme themes and communities should try to incorporate as many themes as possible. The themes are:
- Community & Energy
- Travel
- Food and waste
- Shopping and recycling
- Local climate and environmental action
What funding is available?
Funding is available for 100% of the project and there are three project sizes eligible:
- Small scale projects < €20,000
- Medium scale projects €21,000 to €50,000
- Large scale projects €51,000 to €100,000
How do I apply?
- Communities should contact the Community Climate Action Officer in Kildare County Council with their project ideas, see contact details below.
- Communities then complete and submit their Expression of Interest form and supporting documents through the online Submit portal.
- Apply here.
Contact Details
Dara Wyer
Community Climate Action Officer
045 980563 / 0874759946
climateactionoffice@kildarecoco.ie