The outputs from the 2022-2023 Green Communities Low Carbon Plan are now available on An Taisce’s website
The main document pertinent to Maynooth is the An Taisce Legacy4LIFE Green Communities Handbook.
Taking the Maynooth Electoral Division as its study area, this document provides a detailed account of the Green Communities Low Carbon Plan approach, structure, and methodology for baseline emission estimates and emission intervention forecasts.
It is a formidable document that comprehensively delivers on the project requirements; to calculate baseline emissions across sectors, forecast achievable emission savings, acquire a cross-community consensus on the preferred topic for action, as well as explore sustainable finance.
The first 30 pages of the handbook set out the background and rationale for the methodology of the Low Carbon Plan. Part V – emissions methodology, and Part IV – baseline emission results, are highly detailed and should serve as a reference resource.
The document provides Maynooth with a valuable plan that can be utilised in formulating a business case for community-scale low-carbon projects moving forward. The baseline emission calculations and intervention reduction forecasts provide quantifiable values for current emissions and improvements that can be achieved.
Of equal value is the fact that the manual provides a detailed methodology that can be replicated elsewhere. As the manual emphasises, a community low-carbon plan of this scale should be conducted with the cooperation and support of the local authority, ideally within a decarbonisation zone.
Part XI - Cross Sectoral Low Carbon Preferences, and Part X - Sustainable Finance and Institutional Barriers, will be of particular interest as these investigate climate action preferences and sustainable finance options for Maynooth.
I would like to thank everyone who has contributed their time, assistance, and advice over the last two years in delivering this project, and I hope that its outputs will continue to assist Maynooth in moving forward as a low carbon community.
Regards
Robert Moss
EU Life Green Communities Lead
An Taisce - The National Trust for Ireland
The Tailors' Hall, Back Lane, Dublin 8, Ireland
Phone: 087 4623302
Email: robert.moss@antaisce.org
www.antaisce.org
MGC on behalf of An Taisce