Kilkenny County Councillor goes back to school to learn about the climate crisis challenge

Kilkenny Green Party Councillor Maria Dollard was one of a group of Irish County Councillors to successfully complete a new third level course specifically designed for them. The level 7 UCC course called The Climate Crisis and Local Government, was developed with the Association of Irish Local Government and its purpose is to provide the necessary training for elected members to help them in understanding and supporting the work that County Councils are required to do now under various policies and legislation.

The course was completed by 26 Councillors across all parties and ran for 12 weeks earlier this year. 

Cllr Dollard stated “It was great to study with councillors from various different parties and share our experiences and concerns for the impact of climate change on our local areas. It can be difficult to see what climate change and carbon emissions reduction means for people in local communities and as individuals. The course was really helpful in understand our obligations under the law but also making connections between problems we experience in our communities and solutions that also help us reduce our carbon emissions.

"Many people are already living sustainable lives in that they don’t waste much or buy much. They want to help and as elected members we have a duty to provide leadership in this. We can only do that if we have the correct understanding ourselves on what can and must be done to lead change at local government”

Ireland aims to become a climate-resilient, sustainable, and low carbon economy and society in the coming decades. The course examined how government aims to mitigate and adapt to the challenges brought on by our changing climate in the process. In doing so it looked at the issues of urban and rural resilience, sustainability practices, the pathway to zero carbon, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and climate justice.

The course also examined the wider economic and political context at the macro level, the Paris climate agreement of 2015 for instance, and community leadership and the need for a dynamic political response across a subject which has not only local and national but global implications.