Waterways Ireland is proud to publish its first Climate Action Plan. This Plan is a culmination of extensive internal and
external engagement and sets out a clear roadmap for our climate action
ambitions. As the North-South Cooperation Body responsible for vital
shared heritage assets that stretch across the island of Ireland, Waterways
Ireland has both an opportunity and a responsibility to be at the forefront of
climate action.
Our Climate Action Plan details the approach we will take
to achieve these targets and the seven objectives essential to delivering on
our corporate ambition. The first two objectives are centred on people and
processes; setting out how we will deliver through collaboration and
engagement, and by leveraging our asset and resource management systems. The
remaining five objectives focus on delivering across climate mitigation and
climate adaptation. These integrated objectives align with the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
We look forward to engaging with our stakeholders
throughout the life of the Plan and sharing the knowledge and successes we
achieve along the way.
SEA Screening
The Waterways Ireland Climate Action Plan is not required
by legislative, regulatory or administrative provision and consequently is a
non-statutory plan, therefore SEA can be screened out. However, given the remit
of Waterways Ireland and the waterways, aspects of the assets they manage,
their contribution to the areas in which they are located, and the intention of
their Climate Action Plan to influence the way that Waterways Ireland undertake
those management duties, further assessment of the requirement for SEA has been
undertaken by Cunnane Stratton Reynolds Ltd. Whilst the Climate Action Plan
will promote and support climate action to decrease emissions and increase
efficiencies in organisational operations and practices it does not set down
the location, size or operating conditions of physical development or
activities. View the Screening Report here
Appropriate Assessment Screening
The requirement to
carry out an Appropriate Assessment (AA) comes from Article 6(3) of the
Habitats Directive. The process aims to
determine whether a plan or project, alone or
together with other plans and projects, is likely to have significant effects
on a European Site(s). The Waterways Ireland network of
navigations are adjacent to, or designated as part of, or are hydrologically
connected to the Natura 2000 network and therefore the potential of the Climate
Action Plan, either alone or in combination with other plans or projects, may
give rise to effects on European sites that must be assessed. The Key
Results of the Climate Action Plan are absent of exact geographical
location(s), scale and extent of a physical development or activity, and therefore
they do not give rise to physical impact that can be reasonably assessed to
have significant effect on the qualifying interests of European sites as part
of Natura 2000 network. Having regard to the foregoing, it was concluded
by Cunnane Stratton Reynolds Ltd. after preparing an AA Screening Report that
there is no requirement to progress to Appropriate Assessment (AA) as the
Climate Action Plan either alone, or in combination with other plans is
unlikely to have significant effects on the qualifying interests of European
sites part of Natura 2000. View the Screening Report here.
Signs of progress are visible across the organisation as projects are developed using the Climate Action Plan as the blueprint. Every tree on the canals in Dublin now has a unique description and identifier on our GIS system, so that we can smartly
and sustainably manage the trees along our waterways in Dublin into the future.
Tree Management Plan - Dublin's Waterways
