Dublin City Development Plan 2022 - 2028 / Tang Submission

By 2028 we need to be well on our way to meeting our commitments to the Paris Climate Agreement. Therefore everything in this development plan should be underpinned by ambitious climate action efforts. 

We operate two cafes in the city centre on Dawson Street and lower Abbey Street and the majority of our staff live in the city limits. 

We note the Dublin City Development plan relating to climate action, has two strands, climate change adaption and climate change mitigation.

Climate Change Adaptation:

Vegetation plays an important role in regulation of temperature in cities because it affects the cooling in several ways simultaneously, through evapotranspiration and through shading.

Through evaporation, incoming energy is used to convert water into water vapor. Energy is being used to drive the evaporation process rather than being transferred to the sensible heat that we feel, thus air temperatures lower. Where the water is within a plant, on its surfaces or in the soil, the process is termed evapotranspiration.

As our summers get hotter and hotter greenery, at street level and on and around buildings can have significant impact on temperature regulation in the city.  

This has been famously but to good use in Milan where green buildings are becoming common place and gaining attention and admiration across Europe.

When you walk the streets of Dublin city the absence of greenery is notable.

We would love to see this change and for Dublin to take similar proactive measures as has been done in Milan.

An example of this is Bosco Verticale, two residential towers that are home to 2,280 m2 of trees and shrubs, presenting a soft green shell rather than typical urban concrete, brick or glass.

As for the shading, greenery has multiple functions. The tree crowns prevent penetration of sun rays and prevent storage of energy and warming of the surrounding area which is the consequence of radiation of accumulated energy. In addition, shading reduces the direct gain of energy through windows and the resultant internal greenhouse effect, contributes to energy saving and reduce emission of waste heat energy.

There is a growing body of research points to the beneficial effects that exposure and connection to the nature has on our health, both on our mental and physical wellbeing.

If we wish to make our city properly liveable there are many things that need to happen but giving more space over to nature is an important one.  We appreciate land is at a premium as the housing availability and affordability crisis continues but walled space and rooftops are plentiful and can equally be utilised to bring nature back to the city.  

There are of course huge biodiversity wins to all of the above which are hugely important too. 

Other ways greenery could be increased in Dublin to assist in both mitigating and adapting to climate change would be through an increase in community gardens, planting of mini urban forests as is being championed by https://www.pocketforests.ie/ 

Climate Change Mitigation:

Waste management
Proper segregated waste disposal on the streets of Dublin should be rolled out as a matter of urgency. It is beyond comprehension that many, if not most, of the cafes and restaurants in the city are providing compostable packaging but the city is not doing its part in providing appropriate facilities for our residents and guests to dispose of this packaging correctly.

In Ireland, plant-based plastics are not recycled under green waste streams, commercial brown waste streams have facilities for industrial composting and black waste streams are currently incinerated and landfilled.

There are 22,000 coffee cups disposed of in Ireland every hour. We couldn’t find figures for Dublin specifically but you would assume it could be between 30-50% of the 22,000.  Therefore it is a huge failure of the city to not have correct waste facilities in place to get these plant based cups and other packaging into industrial composting facilities.

The co2 reductions from correctly composting organic waste versus sending it to landfill or incinerator are obvious and significant and will have a notable impact on the city’s efforts to mitigate it’s impact on climate change.

Transport

Walking and cycling need to be at the fore of all decisions relating to transport. Improved footpaths, improved cycle lanes. Pedestrianisation as much as possible. Improved bicycle locking facilities.

Congestion charges to move cars out of the city to improve air quality, safety and mitigate climate change. 

Seperate issue realting to biodiversity.

We would like to see a plan put in place to protect and improve the liffey it's biodiverstiy and to bring it into focus and make it an ammenity that the people of Dublin can enjoy. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this.