1. Introduction and Context
Please see our attachment for Chapter 1
The Kildare Climate Action Linkage Group welcome the opportunity to provide a submission as part of this consultation. We sincerely hope our feedback and suggestions are seriously considered and are included in the next iteration of the Kildare CDP Draft. We note that while we clearly set out a need to highlight both the climate and biodiversity crises in the CDP as part of our response to the Issues Paper, KCC failed to reflect this in the current draft of the CDP. We urge KCC to rectify this as soon as possible.
While recognising efforts of KCC to date and welcoming the rising profile of climate and biodiversity as issues within the county, we are extremely concerned that, given the scale of both the climate and biodiversity crises, the CDP shows a lack of ambition, a lack of resourcing, and a lack of strategic plans and targets to deliver tangible progress.
The reality is that we are losing the battle against climate change and biodiversity loss. Our emissions continue to rise across most sectors in Ireland, our habitats and species continue to decline, and our world is showing increasing signs of breakdown.
These are not just issues for environmentalists or activists. Industries in Ireland are already starting to feel the impact of the climate and biodiversity crises in supply chains, in their customer demands, in their investor demands. Homeowners are feeling the impacts of not having been prepared for energy shocks, which climate change will only intensify. Workers are feeling the impacts of losing their positions due to industries not having adequately prepared themselves for the inevitable transition.
Local Authorities have a privileged, pivotal role to play in driving climate and biodiversity action at a local level and beyond. There is no shortage of residents in Kildare ready to assist and support ambitious measures, but they must be ambitious.
We urge you to ensure that the CDP is as ambitious as possible, that it provides clarity for Kildare’s climate and biodiversity action roadmap, and that it does not provide any opportunity for ambiguous language or watering down of commitments.
We have no more time to waste.