€446,000 funding for local climate action projects in Galway

Non-profit organisations in Galway can now apply to the first ever Community Climate Action Fund, which offers funding up to €100,000 per project. Applications will be accepted until 8 March.

The goal of the fund is to support communities to become more sustainable in order to meet national climate and energy targets.

Tiarnan McCusker, the Galway City Community Climate Action Officer since October 2023, was hired specifically to manage this fund.

“This is the first time there’s been a Community Climate Action Officer in Ireland,” he said. “Each of the local authorities now has a Climate Action Team.”

Each team consists of a Climate Coordinator, Climate Action Officer and the Community Climate Action Officer.

Various funds for different groups

The Community Climate Action Fund was officially announced by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on 9 January, with an overall funding pot of €27m. €24m of this will finance local projects.

“Each of the local authorities get different amounts depending on the population,” said Mr McCusker. The Fund for Galway City amounts to €446,000 overall, offering different funding sums for small, medium and large-scale projects. Projects have to be completed after 18 months.

The remaining €3m of the national funding budget is allocated to the ‘Shared Island Fund’ to support “cross-border and all-island community climate action initiatives”.

Referring to the Shared Island Fund, Mr McCusker said: “There is only €3m available for these projects, so there is competition there between the local authorities.”

Each of the project applications will be marked based on various criteria. “We have a selection panel here in Galway City Council made up of employees from various different departments,” he said. “They will choose a portfolio of projects to be send through to the Department.”

The final step is the approval by the Minister of the Environment, Climate and Communications.

Communities profiting

According to Mr McCusker, the goal of the fund is to specifically support community groups. “A lot of the community groups that are applying for funding are run by volunteers and they do always struggle for finance and funding,” he said.

This is a “real bonus” for these groups and an “opportunity … to engage with climate action”, he added.

Mr McCusker also believes that the process of applying for funding will benefit the community because it will inspire locals to engage with climate action initiatives.

Galway’s Climate Action Plan

“The Climate Action Plan has only been recently endorsed by the councillors of Galway City Council last week,” said Mr McCusker. He went on to explain that the Community Climate Action Fund is part of a larger mission.

“Essentially, what we’re trying to do is reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51 per cent both in Galway City Council operations and the city as a whole by 2030 and to become carbon neutral by 2050”.

In order to reach this goal, the Climate Action Team is “engaging with business, academia, schools, community groups to nudge all of these groups and all of these entities towards carbon neutrality”, he said.

The next round of funding will be available in 2026.