Outline Heads of Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill: Opening Statement
Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht
Presenter: Barry O’Flynn, Director, Lead Advisory – Environmental Finance, Ernst & Young
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The proposed bill is very much welcomed in providing the required clarity and certainty of a national long-term roadmap and implementation plan that is critical to unlocking private capital and private sector innovation to deliver the required solutions.
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Whilst the three proposed objectives stated in the Bill, namely decarbonisation, climate resilience and environmental sustainability, serve vital social and environmental purposes, it is critically important to achieve these objectives to maximise economic development, economic sustainability and economic competitiveness for the State.
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All countries are facing similar decarbonisation and resource-efficiency challenges as economic necessity forces them to do so. Global food, water and energy demand is continuing to increase as the global population increases. However, there are limits to the supply of these resources through conventional means and the implications of this increasing demand, namely waste and emissions, will continue to have increasingly detrimental social, environmental and economic consequences.
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Global investments into the cleantech sector have quadrupled over the past eight years, now reaching in excess of $250 Billion a year, as global demand to reduce energy consumption, increase renewable energy generation, reduce emissions, manage waste production and improve water distribution increases. The majority of these investments have gone into infrastructure.
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The core objectives of the proposed Bill should not be seen as being compliance or responsibility-led but rather an opportunity for significant economic development, job creation and competitiveness for the Irish economy, if tackled in the right way.
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A number of countries such as Denmark, South Korea, Israel and China are responding to their domestic resource and emissions challenges by turning them into core economic development opportunities. These countries are using their own very ambitious domestic objectives to develop a more competitive economy, generate employment and to create world-class solutions that will be of commercial interest to the global marketplace.
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Ireland has the fourth highest dependency in Europe on fossil fuel imports, after Malta,
Luxembourg and Cyprus, with almost 90% of all energy consumed being imported, at a cost of c. €6Bn a year. It is thus one of the most vulnerable economies in Europe to external fuel prices and price volatility, a key issue for long-term competitiveness and economic stability.
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Energy (used primarily for heat, transport and electricity generation) is responsible for more than half of all national emissions. Buildings alone are responsible for 40% of national energy consumption, given the comparatively low quality of the building stock and the high dependency on oil for home heating.

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By systematically reducing energy consumption, reducing energy imports, becoming an energy exporter and switching from fossil fuels to indigenous renewable energy sources, emissions can rapidly be reduced whilst increasing energy security, reducing economic and reputational risk and generating economic growth.
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Non-energy related emissions (i.e. agriculture) can be offset with appropriate domestic offsetting strategies including forestry and bioenergy, addressing both emission reductions and environmental sustainability.
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Capitalising on the global shift to the electrification and biofuels for transport and the use of natural gas rather than oil for larger vehicles could create a situation where Ireland’s abundant indigenous renewable energy resources can generate the electricity, liquid fuels and the biogas for the transport sector. This will generate both economic and environmental sustainability, while rapidly reducing national emissions and developing a competence that can be exported globally.
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A key focus of the proposed bill should not only be to set long-term targets and an appropriate implementation plan but to fully engage with the private sector to reduce policy barriers and unlock private sector innovation and private capital to come up with the right solutions while developing economic growth.
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From the perspective of the private sector, the long-term policy objectives can only be reached if they are based on strong economic and social fundamentals, there is transparency around the implementation plan, there is clear leadership, accountability and governance regarding the delivery of the plan and that the plan will be delivered in a tightly integrated manner, involving all key stakeholders, both public and private, across all departments, agencies and sectors.
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The long-term policy choices and ongoing policy stability underpinning these choices will determine the flow of capital and enterprise that is required to achieve the proposed transition.
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Initial studies indicate that between 26,000 and 80,000 jobs can be created and with between 4.2-4.6% growth in GDP by 2020, if the right objectives and policies are introduced that will result in increased energy efficiency, increased indigenous renewable energy and reduced energy imports. Such policies and objectives could include:
A clear objective, implementation plan and economic justification to achieve energy independence by 2050 and to become a significant renewable energy exporter.
An objective of being carbon neutral by 2050, offsetting any and all domestic carbon emissions through domestic carbon sink initiatives – i.e. forestry
Introducing a roadmap, implementation plan, annual targets and related accountabilities to reduce transport-related fossil fuel consumption and emissions

Using the public sector’s energy and water needs and its scale as the lead and catalyst for change, attracting private capital and private sector innovation to address these challenges and come up with solution that can be deployed across the economy and beyond.
Initiatives could include retrofitting all government buildings, public buildings, schools and social housing with private sector capital, repaid through the resulting energy savings; raising Government procurement standards to accelerate the use of energy efficient and low emission transport; upgrading wastewater treatment and public lighting to significantly reduce long-term energy costs.
Enhancing Government-related procurement policies to consider long-term energy cost and security implications to the economy and the resulting emissions.
Increasing building standards to ensure all future buildings are at the highest level of efficiency standards, being able to micro-generate where possible and economically viable.
Introducing measures to ensure a sustainable indigenous waste sector – limiting the exporting of waste for disposal, supporting energy-from-waste infrastructure, stimulating innovation and solutions for waste and emissions management in the agrifood sector.
Introducing measures to rapidly reduce the use of oil for domestic heating
Creating investment vehicles and financial solutions to fast-track and encourage global capital to invest in infrastructure and technologies that reduce energy and water consumption, generate renewable energy and are resource efficient
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Ireland has the potential to be a world leader in this sector given its comparative advantages
- formidable renewable energy resources, a talented workforce, a single grid operator and distribution network owner, a strong ICT sector and a world-class financial services sector – as well as having a number of leading Irish-headquartered companies active globally.
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The economic necessity to address the State’s energy challenges, the building stock in need of refurbishment and the water and waste infrastructure in need of upgrading is an opportunity to deploy these advantages domestically at scale, attract private capital and innovation, increase employment and competitiveness and develop a world-class capability in so doing.