Dún Laoghaire / Blackrock Decarbonising Zone

Engaging Dún Laoghaire – Blackrock stakeholders in the creation of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown’s Decarbonising Zone Action and Implementation Strategy.

April 2025 - July 2026

On this page: About the project Evidence base Local engagement Project results Project team Project partners and funders

About the project

A Decarbonising Zone (DZ) is a specific area that has been chosen by a local authority where a range of solutions are identified to address local low carbon energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate needs. Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council identified the Dún Laoghaire – Blackrock area as an area to test innovative climate solutions. As part of the National Climate Action Plan 2023, there is a requirement of every local authority in Ireland to create a “Decarbonising Zone Plan”. With this plan, the DZ intends to foster collaboration between Dún Laoghaire Rathdown, the local community and businesses to reduce the amount of carbon emissions produced by everyday activities in the local area.

Evidence base

Codema supported Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council by developing an evidence base for the DZ. This includes mapping and analysing the energy demand and emissions for residential and commercial buildings (including public sector and industrial), and the transport sector across the Decarbonising Zone. This work resulted in:

A full evidence base of spatially mapped out emission sources and low-carbon resources in the Decarbonising Zone
Potential increase/decrease in emissions projected to 2030
A gap-to-target analysis, based on the 51% emissions reduction target.
An analysis of available data to estimate what changes in emissions have happened since 2018
A register of opportunities to help define a portfolio and pipeline of decarbonisation projects for delivery and outline potential funding opportunities.
Targeted policy recommendations that focus on supporting the removal of structural, regulatory and financial barriers

Local engagement

Stakeholder workshops played a key role in shaping the Decarbonisation Zone (DZ) Plan. Since most emissions in the DZ come from homes, businesses, and transport – areas that are largely outside the direct control of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (dlrcc) – working closely with the community was essential.

Stakeholders were given the opportunity to review and help develop the draft Enabling Tasks (ETs) designed to reduce emissions. The enabling tasks support the implementation of climate actions and the DZ Register of Opportunities identified in the Council’s Climate Action Plan 2024-2029.

A workshop-based approach was chosen to allow participants the opportunity to engage with complex topics, ask questions, and explore practical solutions together. By combining local knowledge and lived experience with technical expertise, stakeholders helped shape the ETs.

This collaborative approach not only strengthened the quality of the Plan but also fostered a shared sense of ownership and encouraged the community to play an active role in delivering local climate action.