Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP)

Community organisations meeting the requirements listed below are eligible to apply for funding under Strand 1 and Strand 1a of the Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP) to deliver projects which address climate change at a local level and support the delivery of low carbon and climate resilient communities.

Community organisations:

• must be a not-for-profit organisation.
• must be located in the operational area of the local authority (Cork County Council) to which it is applying for funding.
• must submit a completed application form on or before the specified closing date and time.
• must be registered with a PPN or connected with other collectives such as the Wheel, Tidy Towns and /or a community group with Articles of Association or a Constitution, which hold an AGM, and for which approved minutes are available.

Furthermore:

• The project applied for must be in line with the aim/purpose of the Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP), and the criteria eligible for funding.
• Only one application per organisation may be submitted for consideration – projects proposed could cut across several of the themes and be bundled together as part of a single application.

In developing projects, community groups should also consider how their proposed projects contribute to progress in relation to relevant Sustainable Development Goals.

The following are not eligible to apply:

• Private individuals.
• Commercial undertakings (including sole traders).
• National community and environmental organisations.
• Schools, third level institutions etc.
• Financial institutions.

Additionally, for projects applying for funding under Strand 1a:

• Strand 1a applications must be made by a lead organisation in Cork County Council’s jurisdiction, with at least one partner organisation in Northern Ireland.
• Strand 1a applications will be submitted to Cork County Council (i.e., in the jurisdiction in which the lead organisation is based).
• Strand 1a applications must comprise a cross-border project in partnership with an organisation in Northern Ireland.
• Given the scope for all-island projects, national community and environmental organisations are eligible to apply under Strand 1a.
• Partner organisations must be a not-for-profit organisation, a local authority, or a community or environmental organisation, registered in Northern Ireland.

Cork County Council strongly advise that prospective applicants contact the Community Climate Action Officer in advance of any submissions to confirm eligibility at climate@corkcoco.ie.

The types of projects/initiatives, within communities, which are eligible for funding under the Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP), should seek to demonstrate the delivery of national climate action at local level by:

1. Reducing or supporting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Increasing the production, or use, of renewable energy.
3. Improving energy efficiency.
4. Increasing climate resilience.
5. Identifying nature-based projects that enhance biodiversity and seek to reduce, or increase the removal of, greenhouse gas emissions or support climate resilience in the State.
6. Assisting regions in the State (including communities in those regions) and within sectors of the economy impacted by the transition to a low carbon economy.
7. Involving potentially innovative solutions to address the above asks.

More specifically, projects must also be developed to take climate action across as many of the following five programme themes as possible. A project may therefore comprise several of the suggested project types as set out in themes 1 to 5 below. While these themes provide suggestions for the types of projects which may be funded, applicants are not limited to selecting these project types and are encouraged to explore innovative projects that meet the objective of the Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP).

Projects should address the following five themes:

• Community Energy
• Travel
• Food and waste
• Shopping and recycling
• Local climate and environmental action

Additionally, while projects seeking funding under Strand 1a should generally address the same five themes as Strand 1 projects, there are also specific areas that may be particularly suited to a Shared Island approach. In recognition of the integration of climate and biodiversity action policies, these could include:

• Valuing Networks for Nature
• Sustainable farming
• Just Transition
• Peatland restoration
• Renewable energy
• Flood forecasting
• Coastal erosion

The following are mandatory requirements that all proposed projects must be in compliance with in order to be eligible to receive funding for both Strand 1 and Strand 1a of the Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP)

• Projects must be eligible for funding from the Climate Action Fund (Strand 1) or the Shared Island Fund (Strand 1a), as has been set out in the eligibility criteria. 
• Projects must comply with all statutory requirements in relation to planning, building regulations, Health and Safety, and Fire Codes, if applicable. 
• Applicants are required to ensure that their project has all the required planning and regulatory permissions and consents in place prior to the submission of their application. The onus is on the applicant to ensure that their project has sufficiently considered these factors. Projects that require planning permission are only eligible to receive funding if this permission is in place at the point of submission. Projects will not be deemed eligible to receive funding if this criterion is not met.
• Prospective partners are required to self-certify that they do not have the funding available to undertake the work without support, or alternatively that the support will enable them to undertake more, work which they otherwise would not be able to afford. 
• Prospective partners must be able to demonstrate their ability to carry out the proposed works. 

Procurement

Applicants are required to undertake their project in line with public procurement guidelines in relation to the procurement of all goods, services and works. When completing the application form, organisations are requested to include a minimum of three quotes for any purchases of goods, services or works for the project. Any additional supplier quotes may be attached separately. Quotes should be applicable for when the project is due to commence and take into consideration any envisaged cost increases. Applicants should consider green procurement, where possible. 

Where three quotes for a particular product/service is not possible or overly burdensome in the case of multiple project components, the requirement for three quotes per item may be waived and the application may be evaluated on the quotes available. Documentary evidence should be provided showing efforts made to obtain three quotes where possible. The applicant should consult with their Community Climate Action Officer prior to submitting their application. Cork County Council must be satisfied that the application represents value for money and that the applicant has engaged with suppliers in developing their proposal. 
 

Funding and Eligible Costs

Eligible costs will be considered on a case-by-case basis by Cork County Council. However, the following general conditions will apply:

• Costs submitted must be for the sole purpose of implementing the project and shall not relate to any other purpose.
• Duplicate public funding must not have been received, or will be received, from other sources for the same purpose.
• Costs must be verifiable, e.g., by evidence of public procurement, an invoice and receipt for payment.
• Cork County Council will be advised by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications if some costs have been deemed ineligible from the outset. This will be taken account of in the grant amount recommended and the amount awarded and included in the grant agreement for the proposal.
• Partners cannot include the cost of using their own equipment or premises.
• Funding must comply with State Aid requirements.
• The Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP) will provide up to 100% of funding for successful projects, as per the terms and conditions of the programme. Other funding may be leveraged for projects (e.g., with LEADER, Tidy Towns, Town and Village Enhancement funding, etc.) although that is not a requirement of this programme. It is the responsibility of the administrators of/body responsible for any other funding scheme or programme to ensure that using the CCAP to co-fund a project does not contradict the rules of that other scheme/programme.

Examples of costs/projects that are not eligible under the Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP) include

• Projects that solely benefit an individual
• Teaching/staffing
• Travel and transport costs except in exceptional circumstances
• Equipment, unless directly associated with the project
• Income generating projects
• Overheads, ongoing running costs
• Insurance
• Accommodation and subsistence
• Redundancy costs
• Penalties/Interest/Bank Interest/Charges
• Loan repayments
• Retrospective costs, i.e., expenditure which has taken place prior to approval date of the project
• Costs for which more appropriate funding opportunities already exist are ineligible, where it is clear that Community Climate Action Programme funding is a substitute for other public funding which is currently available
• Notional costs e.g., the room hire within the applicant’s own premises
• Legal Fees

This list is not exhaustive, and all costs will be considered on a case-by-case basis by Cork County Council. All grant payments from the Community Climate Action Programme will be issued in arrears and for eligible vouched expenditure only. 

State Aid Requirements

Applicants will be required to self-assess whether any potential funding received for their project from the Community Climate Action Programme would constitute state aid. In the cases that involve state aid, the groups will be required to declare previous De Minimus State aid received and any funding will be aid offered through the De Minimus Regulation (Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013), provided it would not breach the relevant De Minimus ceiling. If a project is ineligible to receive funding through the De Minimus Regulation the group may be eligible to receive funding through the CAF GBER Scheme. In this case, Cork County Council will engage further with officials from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.

Cork County Council is now inviting applications from eligible organisations for Strand 1 of the Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP) under a supplementary call for applications (Call 1, Part B). 

The application period opens on Wednesday 11th December 2024 and will close at 16:00 on Wednesday 22nd January 2025.

The application process is open to eligible applicants who did not apply under the initial call (Call 1, December 2023), and Cork County Council strongly recommend prospective applicants to contact the Community Climate Action Officer at climate@corkcoco.ie in advance of any submission to confirm eligibility. A maximum of one application per organisation will be accepted.

Successful projects must be delivered within 10 months of the awarding of funding and expenditure will only be eligible after contracts between the successful applicant and Cork County Council have been completed (anticipated for Q2 2025).

Applicants are required to ensure that their project has all the required planning and regulatory permissions and consents in place prior to the submission of their application. The onus is on the applicant to ensure that their project has sufficiently considered these factors. Projects that require planning permission are only eligible to receive funding if this permission is in place at the point of submission. Projects will not be deemed eligible to receive funding if this criterion is not met.

The Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP) is a competitive programme, and the final decision for project approval will be made by the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications. The Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP) has no appeal process and all decisions by the Minister are final.

Call 1 Part B has an increased focus on more innovative projects and the submission of applications from projects in Cork County’s Decarbonising Zone (Macroom) is also strongly encouraged.

Applications will be assessed based on the details provided in the submitted application form, and evaluation criteria for eligible projects is outlined in the document entitled CCAP, Call 1 Part B – Strand 1 Evaluation Criteria.