Community Climate Action Fund
Applications to the Community Climate Action Fund for Cork City closed on Friday June 16th, 2023.
In total 35 applications were received. The total fund allocated to Cork City by DECC, €840,000, was oversubscribed more than twice.
| Size | Number | Total value of grants received |
| Small Grants | 9 | €98,512.40 |
| Medium Grants | 15 | €666,046.50 |
| Large Grants | 11 | €977,710.12 |
| Totals | 35 | €1,742,269.02 |
There was a good geographical spread of applications from all five of the city’s electoral areas.
Applications addressed all five of the themes, across all grant sizes. Almost all applications aimed to deliver impact in more than one theme. Local environment and climate action was the most popular theme addressed, featuring in 31 of the applications. The other themes were addressed in between 15 and 18 of the applications received.
Cork City Council has established an inter-departmental team to appraise the applications received against DECC’s evaluation criteria. Recommendations for funding will then be made to DECC, who will decide the allocation of funds in due course.
A second round of funding for the Community Climate Action Fund is expected. The timetable and specific fund allocation for Cork City are still to be decided
The Lord Mayor, Councillor Deirdre Forde, welcomed the new funding, stressing that: “community action is at the heart of how we make Cork a more liveable and sustainable city. This substantial new fund will help our community partners put their plans into practice and help us achieve our climate change goals”. Cork City Council Chief Executive, Ann Doherty, added that: “the new community climate action fund is a big step in the right direction. Cork City community groups have the ideas and energy to help propel the City towards a sustainable future. I am delighted that the Council, with the financial support from the Department of the Environment, Communications & Climate (DECC), can back our community organisations to address the climate crisis at the local level, making our city a better place to live at the same time” |
Why is acting on climate change important?
The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently warned that cities and infrastructure will experience increasing, “widespread and substantial impacts and related losses and damage” due to climate change through flooding, storms and other climate extremes. Cork City Council is taking climate change seriously. You can read the full IPCC synthesis report at AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023 (ipcc.ch)
What will the Community Climate Action Programme achieve?
Cork City Council's Community Climate Action Programme exists to help members of our community to act in their local areas. Its goal is to shape and build low-carbon, sustainable communities that, together, contribute to the achievement of Ireland’s national climate change and energy goals.
The programme will help make the city more resilient to extreme weather caused by climate change and make the city a better place to live.
How does the Community Climate Action Programme funding scheme work?
There are two strands of funding available.
- Strand 1 focuses on direct climate action within Cork city.
- Strand 1A focuses on cross-border partnerships between community organizations in Cork city and organizations in Northern Ireland.
Funding will be allocated to community organizations based on an appraisal of the expressions of interest submitted to Cork City Council.
Projects must deliver a direct positive impact on climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and/or helping communities adapt to the consequences of climate change.
Projects should address at least one, preferably several, or the following five themes:
- Home and energy.
- Travel.
- Food and waste.
- Shopping and recycling.
- Local climate and environmental action.
The Community Climate Action Programme grants can fund up to 100% of all eligible costs.
You can apply for different sized grants:
- Small scale projects < €20,000
- Medium scale projects €20,000 to €50,000
- Large scale projects €50,000 to €100,000
You can download more information on the funds below:
Who is eligible for funding
Eligible community organisations must:
- Be not-for-profit.
- Be located within the boundaries of Cork city.
- Submit a completed application form by the deadline (Friday June 16th 2023).
- Be registered with the Cork City PPNor be connected with other collectives such as The Wheel, Tidy Towns, or be a community group with Articles of Association, which hold an AGM with appropriately approved minutes.
PPN membership is not a requirement of this funding. However, it can be helpful for community organizations to join. If you would like to join, you can find application forms at Register to join the Cork City PPN and a membership checklist at PPN Member Directory.
Private individuals, commercial undertakings, and national community or environmental organisations are not eligible for funding from the Community Climate Action Programme.
Terms and Conditions
As with any Council funding there are conditions attached to this funding. The full list of terms and conditions can be downloaded to read here.
State Aid
Applicants must declare whether funding would constitute State Aid by answering three questions. Details of what is State Aid and what specific terms mean can be found in the document below:
For further information, please email the Climate Action Unit at climateactionfund@corkcity.ie