Cork City is one of 100 cities in the EU’s Climate-Neutral & Smart Cities Mission. Our goal is to reduce our carbon emissions by 80% and become climate-neutral by 2030. This challenging goal is essential for Cork to become one of the most resilient, future-proofed and economically successful European cities. Success will depend on the actions of everyone who live or come to work in Cork, who visit, learn or invest here.
Our Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Honoré Kamegni, accepted the EU’s Mission Label, on behalf of the city, at an award ceremony in Vilnius. The Label puts Cork among 100 other European cities seeking new and effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas pollution as quickly as possible.
To receive the Label, we prepared an action plan and an investment plan to set out what we will do and how we will mobilise the needed investment to achieve our goal. The plan has been assessed by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank and deemed to be a credible pathway to net zero, if implemented. You can read the plans submitted to the EU below.
Brian Ó Gallachóir, UCC, David Joyce, Cork City Council, Deputy Lord Mayor Cllr. Honore Kamegni, Paul McGuirk, Cork City Council, Adam Farenden, Arup, at the awarding of the Mission Label to Cork City.
The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Dan Boyle has described the Mission Label as a “powerful lever for change”.
“This award is European recognition of our compelling vision of Cork as a resilient, successful, sustainable and attractive city of scale, with quality of life at its heart. We have developed our approach to climate action in a holistic way to catalyse innovation, new ways of working, new partnerships and new social and economic opportunities,” he said.
“Our ambition is to have a city with top-class public transport, a vibrant city centre, a greener city with safe, new and attractive amenities, more energy-efficient buildings, a much-improved public realm, and a city that is easier to get around on foot or by bike,” he said.
We know that people want change to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises in our city. Citizen participation is key, and everyone will need to be included in the journey. Residents of Cork City want fair ambitious climate action. This will require a “coalition of the doing” across the city bringing together the business community, civil society, and the public sector and all individuals.
This can be seen clearly in the formation of an inclusive leadership group for our transition to net zero, involving the major public sector organisations and universities, the business community and civil society. These organisations and their leaders have committed to doing their part in our transition and are each implementing a wide range of projects to reduce pollution and to reduce energy consumption.
There are lots of ways to play a part in our transition. Our civil society groups are implementing community climate action projects across the city. Local Green Deals are being pioneered across our city, committed to taking impactful climate actions in their own areas, with the support of Cork City Council. Individuals are choosing to walk and cycle around the city rather than drive, when they can, and increasing numbers of people are using SEAI supports to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and installing solar panels.
Cork City Council Chief Executive Valerie O’Sullivan said: “Not only is the climate action agenda an environmental necessity but decarbonisation is also a key driver of competitiveness. Countries and cities that are best able to do this will reap benefits from economic growth, in sectors including energy, clean technology, construction, finance and other”.
“At a practical and operational level, the Mission can achieve significant dividends for Cork City. Its Capital Hub can support the development of investment-ready projects, helping to connect projects to sources of finance and thus enable delivery, not only for Cork City Council but for our public and private sector partners and for wider civil society,” she added.
Other cities are using their Label to good effect by mobilising funding and finance to support climate actions, in areas such as housing and transport to finance and nature-based solutions. We now have the opportunity to do the same.
We will regularly update this page with new information about actions being taken to tackle climate change. Please check it regularly.
Contact us with your questions, ideas and if you want to get involved at climateaction@corkcity.ie
Cork City Climate City Contract - Commitments Document Cork City Climate City Contract - Action Plan“This is not just about our planet or our great-grandchildren. Acting on climate change will cause positive impact on our health, wealth, and well-being now. This is not the work of the council alone, to succeed we must all work together. Business as usual is no longer enough”. Lord Mayor Cllr. Kieran McCarthy
