A new €1m fund and campaign has been launched to encourage local communities to engage in raising climate awareness, engagement and activation in their local areas.
The Climate Actions Work Fund will provide small scale community funding or grants, ranging from €2,500 to up to €10,000, for people and groups to engage in the conversation about climate change.
The aim is to build a stronger and wider national conversation on climate change and what it means for communities across the country.
The grants will be provided to people and groups across Irish society who want to make their communities better places in which to live sustainably.
The idea is to support individuals, groups and organisations working to bring people together and share information about climate change in communities as well as discussions and forums highlighting what people can do about it.
The money provided is not to be used for climate actions or mitigation measures such as the installation of solar panels. Instead, it is support for communication and engagement at a community level.
It will support groups to work with audiences who have not previously talked about climate change or the local actions they can take.
Innovative funding projects
Priority will be given to funding projects that are innovative - trying out new ideas to reach new audiences.
The type of activities that will be supported include event organisation, climate advocacy, social media, developing leaflets and information materials, or joining up and working with other groups to take on bigger project.
The money will be administered by Community Foundation Ireland which, as part of its mission of Equality For All in Thriving Communities, has been empowering local groups, researchers and advocates to take action on climate and nature since 2000.
The impetus to provide this new strand of funding emerged from what the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications learned from working with community groups through the National Dialogue on Climate Action over the last few years.
Many community groups and organisations are supported through volunteers who often give up nights and days to undertake engagement and communications activities.
This new climate engagement campaign will be supported by a comprehensive training programme and a toolkit supporting community groups in developing and delivering their projects.
These will be available for anyone interested in knowing more about how to talk about and engage people on climate action.
'Irish people care about climate change' - Ryan
Launching the fund at a visit to Baldoyle Wild Town, a 2023 winner of the Tidy Towns Special Award for Climate Action, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan said: "We know that Irish people care about climate change, that they are concerned about its effects on their lives, but importantly that they believe that climate actions work.
"What's often difficult is talking about that and spreading the word in a way that will encourage others to get involved.
"This fund will help communities and organisations come together to discuss how climate change is affecting them and what are the most suitable actions they can take.
"Baldoyle Wild Town is a really inspiring example of what a community can achieve when they come together, talk about climate change in their community, and what they can do to take action.
"During my visit today I’ve seen diverse examples of how a community can start small to make big changes.
"Baldoyle Wild Town have undertaken tree-planting, biodiversity, water quality and recycling projects among others, to make their community more climate resilient and a healthier, greener place to live."
