CELT - Centre for Environmental Living and Training

Submission to the Galway County Council Draft Local Authority Climate Action Plan (LACAP) –

Who We Are:

CELT is a community oriented registered charity with a focus on the empowerment of people through ecological knowledge and skills. We have been providing training, education and awareness raising in environmental, traditional and ecological skills since 2001. We are passionate about environmental issues and our aim is to increase personal capacity and community resilience through our offerings. These include guided walks, workshops, field trips, learning journeys and community events working in close partnership with skilled craftspeople and ecological experts. We focus on Forestry and education around Agroforestry. We are a member of Irish Environmental Network (IEN) and through this organisation receive annual core funding from the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE).

CELT is also a member of the Environmental Pillar, The Wheel (community network) and AONTAS (National Association for Adult Education).

https://www.celtnet.org/

CELT - The Center for Environmental Living and Training would like to submit the following action proposals to the Local Authority Climate Action Plan for County Galway.

As we know, reaching targets on Climate Action includes tackling Biodiversity Loss and Ecosystems Destruction, and that both are inherently interconnected. It's important to note that experts highlight the urgent need for us to re-evaluate our relationship with nature as a core element of changing our way of life for a livable climate and future for all to be possible, and must be incorporated into any future action plans. Radical, ambitious and sweeping changes are needed to avert the threat of ecosystem collapse and tackle the polycrisis including the Climate and Biodiversity emergencies and business as usual is no longer an option.

From a Guardian article, Dec 11th, 2023, top Climate Scientist, Johan Rockstrom, highlights that human destruction of nature is pushing the planet to a point of no return and that even Fossil Fuel phase out will not avert climate breakdown without protections for our natural world, and that our natural carbon sinks such as our forests, woodlands, peatlands hedgerows, and wetlands are vital to keeping temperature rise below UN target 1.5C. Given Galway County combined Agriculture and LULUCF contributing to more that 60% of our Counties’ GHE, we believe a focus on nature protection and restoration has to be a priority.

Guardian Article - Fossil fuel phase-out will ‘not avert climate breakdown without protections for nature!

4. Our Climate Actions

4.1 Governance and Leadership

County leadership is very important, staff and public representative awareness and training on Climate Science, Regenerative Culture Design and Ecosystems understanding for nature protection and restoration within the Local Authority is imperative and should be mandatory. Climate Change & Ecosystem Collapse are extremely urgent issues. Without massive system change we cannot hope to achieve our targets and build a safe future for our children. Our local leaders need to be aware of that. We can no longer afford business as usual and our local leaders need to know that there will be strong resistance to policies that take us in the wrong direction.
Roll out a public awareness campaign including information on the science of Climate Change & Ecosystems understanding to include Biodiversity, Regenerative Living, CCF, Permaculture, Sustainable Woodland Management, and explain why green policies are imperative and a return to living sustainably and in harmony with the natural environment
Empowering people with an educational program that is inclusive is fundamental. People need to know the steps and be supported to take to transition individually and collectively to change the worldview and aim towards a more regenerative, zero emissions, economy and protected environment and for a fair and just transition to happen.
Donut economics is a system where all economic activity operates within a safe space where no one falls below a social foundation and where economic activities do not expand beyond an ecological ceiling. This is a system where humanity can operate within planetary boundaries without overshooting a safe and habitable planet. Consider Donut economics and Health and Wellbeing metrics as a guiding principle instead of GDP.
“Permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable and resilient communities and environments. It offers practical tools for generating productive and efficient landscapes as well as organisations and social structures. The discipline originated as an ecological method for designing sustainable full-featured human settlements, more recently the design principles have been applied in urban, social and group contexts to organise, communicate and cooperate more effectively, rethinking existing social and economic structures – we call this “social permaculture”. Alfred Decker.Social permaculture is about relationships and connection and creating the regenerative conditions between people and place for humans to flourish. Promote Permaculture principles and designs within Council operations and offer training on these principles to communities.
Consider the uncertainties and risks around Tipping points and feedback loops when educating people about Climate Change. Scientists now believe that there are 5 tipping points which could be activated within the Paris Agreement targets of 1.5 or 2C. Consider the exponential nature of climate change, and the escalation of extreme weather events across the world with disastrous consequences for communities. Climate change is escalating and accelerating. Discuss the ramifications of this science within the LACAP. Knowledge of the science is critical as it highlights the urgency for decision makers.

Earth on verge of five catastrophic climate tipping points, scientists warn | Environment | The Guardian

The Local Authority should promote diets and lifestyles that have lower carbon footprints. With this in mind both active travel and local sourced plant based diets should be promoted.
Agriculture accounts for almost half of County Galways emissions (this figure does not even include impacts associated with land use and land use change within the Agricultural sphere). Education for agricultural stakeholders should be rolled out
Diversification of agriculture to grow more vegetables and grains is very important as Ireland is not food secure. The changing climate is already impacting harvests across the world. This is only going to get worse as the climate crisis escalates. Diversification of agriculture in Ireland and in Galway could help insulate Irish citizens from food system shocks abroad. This is especially important given that Ireland is a net importer of calories, and that we have a monoculture of Meat and Dairy. Irish Agriculture is focused on the Export Market, with almost 80/90% of dairy produce exported.
All public catering events at Local Authority level should promote local organic where possible, plant based diets, and all catering should be meat free. This would be in line with section 4.1 on Green Public Procurement (in the LACAP). This would be an important way for the Local Authority to lead by example.

4.2 Energy and Built environment

Do not develop facilities such as data centres in the county. These are extremely energy intensive and will cause us to miss our energy targets/budgets.
We would like to oppose the submission from Renewable Gas Forum Ireland and their recommendation for up-scaling biomethane production. Biomethane is still methane, a gas which is known to leak at almost every stage of its development. We must remember that methane in itself is a very potent greenhouse gas. We are also concerned about relying heavily on renewable gas as it might lock Ireland into an intensive farm model, increasing the cow numbers in order to generate more feedstock for biomethane production.
Galway County Council can endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation Treaty and be part of a movement that puts pressure on the central government to also sign the Treaty. These are important leadership steps, which could make the Local Authority a climate leader. 100 cities and local governments across the world have already endorsed the Treaty.

https://fossilfueltreaty.org/100-cities-cop28

https://fossilfueltreaty.org/cities

Support and encourage the development of local energy co-ops to enable and facilitate communities to develop skills and capacity to initiate locally based community owned and community led energy solutions, including the option of the coop use of public land for the generation of renewable energy alongside supporting community ownership of local microgeneration projects and the new energy grid capacity developments coming on stream.

Building and Planning regulations

Initiate and support One Planet Living developments and community innovation projects such as is supported in Wales by the The One Planet Council. This forward-thinking planning policy provides a genuinely affordable and sustainable way for people to live and work on their own land, bringing social, economic and environmental benefits. It was adopted by the Welsh government in 2011 as part of its One Wales: One Planet scheme. One Planet Development is quantified by ecological footprinting, which reveals how much of the Earth’s resources people are consuming. When households reduce their own ecological footprints this helps their country reduce its overall footprint. The One Planet Council provides a bridge between applicants and local planning authorities, with guidance and tools to support anyone making the transition to this more sustainable way of life. It works also with those who have already made that leap, and with policymakers, academics and landowners. The aim of the One Plant Council is to enable a broad range of exemplar One Planet Development projects throughout Cymru/Wales, comprised of people from all walks of life. And to see these sites serve as an inspiration to the people of Wales and beyond.

https://www.gov.wales/one-planet-development-practice-guidance

https://theoneplanetlife.com/what-is-one-planet-development-in-wales/

https://www.oneplanetcouncil.org.uk/

4.3 Transport

Create safe cycling and walking infrastructure- safe routes to schools for all children
Adopt best practice when designing cycling and walking infrastructure, take your lead from countries that have well developed cycling infrastructure
Build networks of cycle paths to make cycling a true and safe alternative to driving
Follow the hierarchy of transport when allocating road space
Prioritise walking and cycling infrastructure above roads and fast track those projects
Connect cycleways with other public transport such as buses and train stations and provide adequate parking for bikes.
Do not build the ring road, the emissions cost would be enormous and it will lock us into increasing emissions. Use the money to transform Galway and make it a city where active travel and public transport is the easiest way to get around.
Discourage the use of SUVs in built up areas. These cars are known to have higher emissions associated with them and they take up more space.
Consider a light rail or Luas style system for Galway.
Make neighbourhoods more permeable allow more pedestrian movement through spaces so people can access areas without using cars
Pedestrianisation of towns & villages with 30kmph speed limits and French style crossings that are red for cars by default
Support sustainable, community led walking & cycling buses
Ensure safe pedestrian and cycle access to all train stations and bus stops
Covered, safe, protected bus shelters in all locations with a regular service
Pull in areas at the side of road for buses to stop safely and allow traffic past on the right hand side.

4.4 Communities and Partnership

On the Climate Action Fund Action CP1.1

The fund is not sufficient to allow Galway to transition to a green Economy, this shows a lack of ambition of central government. It is very important to strengthen local authorities to allow them to take more action independently of the central government.
A lot of community groups struggle with access to land; this is often the main barrier to community group projects, specifically projects related to the environment. The fund does not address this issue. Nor that of staffing
Galway County Council should immediately publicise an uptodate audit of all public land and empty buildings, and make it accessible and visible to local communities, and allocate to communities to facilitate social enterprises and Green Transition Cooperative Projects, such as Food and Fuel production, community repair cafes, library of things etc

4.5 Circular Economy

Prioritise reduce and reuse strategies rather than recycling which has limited value and can in fact be detrimental by locking in continued use of single use plastic.
Promote water refill stations
Promote reusable keep cups in general and within county council facilities
Promote libraries of stuff to allow people to share items such as gardening tools and equipment.
Work with shops to promote refill stations and to reduce plastic packaging
Set targets on reduction of plastic waste streams for businesses in Galway.
Support Co-Operatives and set targets for Co-ops in the county. Co-ops can help us to meet local production needs for fuel, food, energy, clothing, packaging, eco-housing etc. Co-ops also support small farmers and businesses and make the food system more resilient.
Only support the development of new businesses that are regenerative and non extractive

4.6 Land Use and Green Infrastructure

Adopt a Rights of Nature Motion within the Council.
A Rights of Nature Motion is currently before the Council and needs to urgently be adopted and taken on board in all Council plans, practices and developments. Rights of Nature is a concept, or way of thinking, about how we can redefine our relationship with the natural world. By building on this relationship with reciprocity and care we can learn (or remember ) how to live in harmony with nature. There are different spheres in which this can be done - from education and engagement at community level, to changes in local laws, policy and planning. This would be a key way to build environmental protection into all decision making and raise awareness about the Nature/biodiversity crisis that we are facing. This would educate people and give recognition to the inherent rights of our natural ecosystems to flourish and thrive, to not be destroyed, damaged or polluted and of our inherent interdependence on healthy ecosystems in order to survive.
Carry out an Ecological audit of Local Authority land as outlined in LN2
Work closely with and be open to listening to and learning from community groups who are already doing important environmental work on the ground.
Support Regenerative Bioregional plans to incorporate community gardens and allotments in every village and town, alongside community supported agriculture projects alongside nurseries and neighbourwoods cooperatives for local community coppicing projects for local fuel and fibre production
Work to support best practice management of hedgerows and woodland in the county, limit unnecessary cutting of these vital habitats. Consider working with community groups on expanding areas of native woodland and high nature value habitats on all council land.
Plant more trees and native hedgerows on all publically owned land and sites
And ! Increase annual afforestation rates and promote forest management initiatives in both public and private forests
Continue to support wild zones and wild flower meadows, utilising only locally grown seed, trees and pollinator friendly planting schemes. Use perennial pollinator plants as these are cost efficient and more resilient to environmental stresses.
Utilise best practice across all public spaces, educating council staff and all community bodies on regenerative and permaculture practices, sustainable woodland management and nature based solutions in the care and maintenance of the Public Authority.
Introduce a pesticide ban in the county
Support Regenerative Bioregional Multi Stakeholder Landscape Partnership Projects

4.7 Adaptation to Climate Risk

Galway County Council should have Regenerative, Permaculture and Nature Based Solutions (NBS) at the forefront of their adaptation and mitigation strategies for flooding and other climate driven risks. NBS are “Solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, which are cost-effective, simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build resilience”.
Some of the best NBS are derived from natural vegetation, such as planting more trees in the landscape, which can help prevent river and coastal flooding, drought and other climate driven catastrophic events alongside benefits of carbon sequestration
Catchment based solutions should be examined for flood defence, including slowing water flow in catchments and developing wetland storage sites, Ponds, SUDS etc
Farmers and Landowners should be involved and compensated for lost livelihoods. NBS are win-win as there are co-benefit for habitats and species alongside supporting carbon storage and sequestration
These projects should also be considered because they largely dispense with hard engineering carbon heavy concrete and steel reinforcement. The cement industry is a huge emitter of carbon dioxide. Concrete causes damage to the most fertile layer of the earth, the topsoil. The most severe impact of concrete is that it destroys natural infrastructure without replacing the ecological functions that humanity depends on.

https://rea.ec.europa.eu/funding-and-grants/horizon-europe-cluster-6-food-bioeconomy-natural-resources-agriculture-and-environment/nature-based-solutions_en

Hi-Tech Nature: Nature-based solutions | Jim van Belzen | TEDxDenHelder

Successful projects such as the Salthill Sand Dune Project should be proliferated. Galway City is using NBS to mitigate coastal flooding in Salthill, see the link below.

https://connachttribune.ie/salthill-sand-dune-project-could-help-protect-against-climate-change/

Oceans, kelp banks, trees, algae and wetlands have performed as carbon sinks for millions of years. Using NBS increases the opportunity for carbon sequestration.
NBS should be used to mitigate coastal flooding: NBS intentionally use natural and nature-based habitats, such as marshes or human-made reefs, and natural processes, such as river currents, in infrastructure projects to reduce coastal hazard risks and deliver multiple economic, social, and environmental benefits. These systems are self organising, eg. stream systems which slow sea currents down so that it deposits sediment, reducing wave power.
A large proportion of Galway’s population live and work near the coast, often in homes and businesses built on floodplains. Nature based solutions can have a very important role in protecting lives and livelihoods as well as homes and businesses along the coast. Several coastal villages are already experiencing significant impacts in this regard.

https://connachttribune.ie/climate-scientist-warns-of-threat-to-coastal-villages-509/

Support more research on Marine Permaculture projects such as “With kelp’s help, marine ‘permaculture’ (farming in a sustainable and self-sufficient way) has the potential to turn not only the ocean round but the whole planet – because once we grow it at scale, kelp gives with one hand (food, feed, fuel, fertiliser and more) and takes with the other (carbon, out of the atmosphere and upper ocean, storing it safely in the middle and deep ocean for thousands of years).

https://www.climatefoundation.org/marine-permaculture.html

River Flooding NBS need to be put into practise. There are many examples of river restoration upstream reducing downstream flooding. All public owned lands near a river basin needs to be protected and planted with native riparian woodland.
Natural catchment protection measures can be an effective tool for flood prevention. Pontbren in Wales, Pickering in Yorkshire and many other areas have led the way in this area and reduced catastrophic flooding at a much lower price than hard engineered concrete based solutions.

https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/flooding-cork-climate-change-6202751-Oct2023/

Other NBS the council should consider include techniques such as Leaky log dams, brash dams, stormwater wetlands, native woodland planting, contour hedgerows, planting and damming farm drains to slow the flow, buffer zones, artificial beaver dams, (real beaver dams!).
Professor John Sweeney Climate Scientist based in Maynooth University stated “Given that we are in a climate emergency…more radical options merit consideration. In the Netherlands, for example, a country facing even more acute problems of flooding than Ireland, a programme designed to work closer to nature has proven successful. “Room for the River” has sought to alleviate floods by better managing flood plains, creating water buffers and constructing flood bypasses. Working with nature rather than seeking to control it, offers opportunities. How much less expensive for the taxpayer would it be for example to pay agricultural landowners upstream to allow occasional flooding of their land that would protect homes and businesses downstream? It’s time to think outside the box.

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2023/11/04/professor-john-sweeney-we-need-to-get-ready-for-the-big-flood/

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41252608.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CNature%2Dbased%20solutions%20are%20going,is%20a%20lot%20of%20hydromorphology.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/29/from-tree-planting-to-sponge-cities-why-nature-based-solutions-are-crucial-to-fighting-the-climate-crisis#:~:text=Nature%2Dbased%20solutions%20is%20an,benefiting%20biodiversity%20and%20human%20wellbeing.

https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/climate-crisis/2023/11/23/beavers-to-the-rescue/

Solving flooding with native woodlands: A network of native Irish woodlands that manage flooding while also creating biodiversity rich wildlife corridors & greenways, and offer each local household shared access to wood for thinning, tending, coppicing and firewood collection. We could aim to replace turf gathering with the felling/chopping of firewood where people have no alternative to other renewable energy supplies.

Community-supported farms should form the centre of each parish, producing an abundance of food for green procurement purposes, local farmers markets, local gatherings and vulnerable members of the community. It is said over a third of all food produced is wasted.. this needs to stop.. by reallocating all waste food streams for productive use in the local community, food, fodder, compost etc. Our local community farms could act as local hubs for making things like beehives, boats & even Medieval watermills for the locality, and also outdoor-focused nature based childcare facilities and a regenerative tourism location. The funding would come from EU Life Programme. For inspiration see Portlaoise Men’s shed here: http://www.changex.org/…/ray-wants-to-build-the-biggest-men… And childcare farm: http://keys4healthykids.com/pilot-farm-to-childcare/

Climate and food security.

LN1, Support food security and sustainable local food production and ensure a safe and healthy environment that is resilient to the effects of climate change.

Climate shocks in the breadbaskets of the world and producers of fruit and veg, such as Spain could have serious repercussions for Ireland. The local authority should promote diversification of farming to insulate against these disruptions to food security and make public land and buildings available to house local community food hubs, co-ops and community supported agriculture projects to re-create local food policy and systems to support local food consumption as a matter of urgency
Policies that encourage communities to grow food like community gardens should be supported and public Edible Landscaping projects initiated in every village and town
The Draft LACAP mentions food security many times. We would like the LACAP to explicitly state what food insecurity looks like, perhaps this could form part of the risk assessment.
We need Galway County Council to support and develop in partnership with local stakeholders a Local Food Policy which is essentially about putting food back into our local Communities. We want everyone in County Galway to have access to affordable, locally produced, nutrient dense, chemical-free food.
A Local Food Policy is about putting food back into our local Communities. We want everyone in County Galway to have access to affordable, locally produced, nutrient dense, chemical-free food. We also want farmers to earn a fair living from providing that food into their communities, and farmers supported in changing how they fertilise the land, stopping the use of agrichemicals, and improve management of grasslands on mineral soils for carbon sequestration and the rehabilitation of peatlands
We also want farmers to earn a fair living from providing that food into their communities. That means creating pathways for local food production through a positive policy frame work, as outlined by An Talamh Beo, which incorporates:

income supports,
labour and finance incentives,
pilot projects for land access and
a focus on short supply chains and infrastructure.

“There’s great potential in Ireland for more food being produced here instead of overseas” – Fergal Anderson, Leaf & Root and Talamh Beo Please see here their local food policy document which we strongly support - https://talamhbeo.ie/local-food-policy/

We also strongly advocate for multi stakeholder supports for the establishment of Local Community Food, Health & Wellbeing Hubs and also the development of a Local Food Policy Council and strategy similar to the work taking place in Cork - The Cork Food Policy Council is a partnership between representatives of the community, food retail, farming, fishing, restaurant/catering, education, environmental and health sectors and local authorities.The Cork Food Map - The Food Policy Council should be formed to work towards the achievement of a fairer, healthier, more secure and sustainable food system within the County and throughout the region.

Complementing a Local Food Policy Framework would be:

Institutional recognition for Local Food Producers, Green Procurement, access to land supports and a mapping system with easy access by local communities.
A multi-department, integrated approach to reviving and climate proofing our rural communities

Galway County Council Draft Local Authority Climate Action Plan - Submissions

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