EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Chapter 2: Climate Change Figure 2.7  Ireland’s Climate Information Platform, Climate Ireland Public Participation: Societal Transitions Initiatives such as Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly climate module and the National Dialogue on Climate Action highlight the benefits of citizen engagement and collaborative approaches to developing recommendations and solutions to the national climate emergency. Public participation and community engagement have gained increased attention in climate change debates and policy strategies at national and international levels. Recent opinion polls (EC, 2019c) and grass roots activities demonstrate that there is a high level of awareness of climate change in Ireland. The 2020 EPA RED C poll (EPA, 2020a) found that the 18-34 years age group placed the highest emphasis on climate change as an issue. The Constitutional Convention and the subsequent Citizens’ Assembly have shown the value of engaging the public in a deliberate manner to develop policy responses; they have further highlighted the need for reform in public consultation processes and how the processes may be improved. The Citizens’ Assembly’s climate module made recommendations in relation to public participation in the transition to a low-carbon economy. This was subsequently addressed in the Report of the Joint Committee on Climate Action, which recommended enhanced climate roles for local authority Strategic Policy Committees, the establishment of a one-stop shop to provide practical advice to households and businesses on reducing GHG emissions and utilising advice from the SEAI and the CAROs, and a community engagement strategy. 13 More recently, citizen engagement has featured strongly in the Climate Action Plan 2019. A number of promising models exist to drive this initiative further, including the National Dialogue on Climate Action (Topic Box 2.2) and, in addition, SEAI Energy Communities, the Business in the Community Leaders’ Group on Sustainability and the CAROs. 13 https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/committees/32/climate-action/ 53