Climate Ireland: A comprehensive evaluation of local authority climate action training

Governments in Europe must adjust to the changing climate, which necessitates building public sector capacity for climate action (European Commission, 2021). The Climate Ireland knowledge platform is a crucial national online resource providing climate data and information to decision-makers. Collaborating with Climate Action Regional Offices and the Local Authority Services National Training Group it delivered the “Raising Awareness” climate training programme which has been instrumental in increasing local government knowledge of climate change. The lack of consistency in training initiatives and the knowledge gap for decision-makers have been addressed in large part by Climate Ireland's rise as a trustworthy training and information platform. We analysed quantitative survey data from the Raising Awareness training programme, completed by 15,295 participants from local authorities across Ireland, using statistical methods to assess the training's impact on participants’ understanding, knowledge acquisition, awareness, and decision-making abilities. The training programme was effective in increasing climate awareness, engaging with participants and improving knowledge acquisition. Strong correlations were also found between satisfaction, engagement and personal/professional relatability of the content. Most participants also reported increased feelings of confidence regarding the implementation of climate actions. Our findings suggest that engaging and personally relatable content leads to better satisfaction and learning outcomes. This study offers insights for shaping future climate action training that aligns with national and international commitments to train, empower and enhance capacity of decision-makers. It demonstrates the importance of ongoing training to build adaptive responses to climate change challenges, contributing to Ireland's resilience and sustainability efforts.