The general agreement among urban planners and the science community is that our cities are significantly more comfortable with (lots) more trees. Simply put, trees in cities combat climate change both directly, by storing carbon, and indirectly, by cooling urban areas down. 

Trees lower surface and air temperatures by providing shade and through evapotranspiration. Evapotranspiration, alone or in combination with shading, can help reduce peak summer temperatures by 1–5°C. 

As a mitigation strategy, trees are most useful when planted in strategic locations around buildings or to shade pavement and on streets. But concrete paths, taller buildings and historical landmarks can be a hostile environment for trees, with local authorities finding it hard to plant more – However, the benefits are too numerous to ignore 

Greener and more biodiverse cities offer communities and commuters multiple co-benefits - improved air quality, reduced heat stress, and fewer “urban heat islands” caused by streets and buildings absorbing and retaining heat which all leads to an improvement of mental and physical health. 

What can this mean for Dublin? Well, when you bring a group of people with a common goal together, great things will happen. 
 
Dublin Chamber is proud to be part of a brilliant and diverse local business group with the objective of Greening Pearse Street. 
 
We want to make Pearse Street more than a traffic thoroughfare, we want to create a biodiverse, inclusive and green space that benefits the community - both residential and business.

In January, our group had a productive meeting with the Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr. Caroline Conroy and we’re excited to drive this project forward in 2023. 
 
Stay tuned for more updates or contact Máire Fay maire@dublinchamber.ie  if you are interested in participating.