Ringsend and Poolbeg Decarbonising Zone

Developing the evidence base and engaging the community in Ringsend and Poolbeg in the creation of Dublin City Council’s Decarbonising Zone Plan.

March 2023 – February 2024

Image of St. Patrick's Church in Ringsend with the river in the foreground and a bridge to the right.

About the project

A Decarbonising Zone (DZ) is a specific area that has been chosen by a local authority where a range of solutions are identified to address local low-carbon energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate needs. Dublin City Council identified 1) Ringsend and Poolbeg and 2) Ballymun as their key areas for climate action and to act as test-beds for innovative climate solutions. A requirement of every local authority in Ireland is to create a “Decarbonising Zone Plan”. Dublin City Council recognised that their Decarbonising Zone Plans should address the unique needs, concerns and aspirations of each community. Codema supported in the development of these plans through providing an evidence base and carrying out community engagement.

Evidence base

Codema supported Dublin City Council initially by developing an evidence base for the Decarbonising Zone Plan. This includes mapping and analysing the energy demand and emissions for residential and commercial buildings (including public sector and industrial), and the transport sector across the Decarbonising Zone. This work resulted in:

A full evidence base of spatially mapped out emission sources and low-carbon resources in the Decarbonising Zone
Potential increase/decrease in emissions projected to 2030
Costs associated with reducing emissions and climate pathways
A gap-to-target analysis, based on the 51% emissions reduction target. A register of opportunities to help define a portfolio and pipeline of decarbonisation projects for delivery and outline potential funding opportunities.

Community engagement

To ensure that the community’s perspective was captured within the Ringsend and Poolbeg Decarbonising Zone Plan, our Awareness, Communications and Engagement team developed a Local Engagement Plan. This plan included extensive stakeholder mapping and engagement to identify the key stakeholders and community members to involve in the development of the Decarbonising Zone plan. With the support of Connect the Dots, we hosted several community events to open up discussion around the Decarbonising Zone plan and to create a vision, mission and objectives with the community. Examples of our outreach and community engagement included library information sessions, several interviews with the local RICC radio station, lunchtime climate actions chats and a final wider community event hosted in the Fair Play Café.