Decarbonising the Built Environment

Laura Byron with Fiona O’Donovan, Public Affairs and Communications Executive and Ashley Amato, Public Affairs and Sustainability Executive

In April 2022, Cork city was selected to be one of 100 EU mission climate-neutral smart cities by 2030. This designation opens up a range of opportunities to build a smart future-fit sustainable city that is a world leader. It has the potential to position Cork as a trailblazer for other European urban centres to emulate before 2050.

Cork Chamber were pleased to facilitate a third level work placement student Laura Byron, MSc Cooperatives, Agri-food and Sustainable UCC, who undertook a Public Affairs and Sustainability placement over the last six months.

Laura’s research focused on one of the most challenging obstacles standing in the way of realising the vision of achieving net zero by 2030: Financing the decarbonisation of the built environment. The study analysed and compared international best practice case studies and also consulted with local industry experts with the key objective of overcoming financial barriers and accelerating the decarbonisation of Cork’s old and high carbon emitting building stock.

The research found that collaborative partnerships and tailored regional approaches that utilise innovative financing strategies play a vital role in overcoming the associated financial barriers.