Ministers pledge further action to deliver energy efficient homes, offshore renewable energy and nature-based solutions for the climate

•         Government approves National Marine Planning Framework
•         Met Éireann to continue providing latest climate information, projections and services that enhance our knowledge and understanding about the impacts of climate on our decisions and actions

 

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, and his departmental colleagues Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government and Planning, Peter Burke TD, and Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan TD, have welcomed the recent publication of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 and pledged to deliver the Interim Climate Actions 2021 relating to their department.
The Minister’s also welcomed the approval given at Cabinet for the National Marine Planning Framework, a step identified in the Interim Climate Actions 2021 for facilitating the development of offshore wind energy. The framework will be the key decision-making tool for Government departments, State agencies, regulatory authorities and policy makers for decisions on marine activities.
Speaking this morning, Minister O’Brien said: “The Government’s publications represent a new departure in Government ambition for climate action. My Department will be to the fore in meeting the challenge of getting to net zero emissions by 2050 across a range of actions on housing, planning, marine and natural heritage protection and analysis of Ireland’s climate.
”Cabinet have now approved the National Marine Planning Framework, which will go to the Oireachtas for approval by way of resolution. The National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) is a plan which will set out, over a 20 year horizon, how we want to use, protect and enjoy our seas. The NMPF will sit at the top of the hierarchy of plans and sectoral policies for the marine area and will be critical to the deployment of offshore wind energy. This document sets out the proposed forward planning framework within which our renewable energy targets can be met.
“Delivery of energy efficient housing stock is another tool in our armoury when it comes to climate action. This year, I have allocated €65 million for retrofitting about 2,400 social homes to a B2 or equivalent Building Energy Rating. That work will make homes warmer, more comfortable and more efficient to heat, and will help protect householders’ health through better air quality. Recent Nearly Zero Energy Building Regulations for new builds are making all new residential dwellings 70% more energy efficient than performance requirements in 2005. The requirements for buildings undergoing major renovation - where more than 25% of the surface area is renovated - to achieve a B2 BER or equivalent, will also significantly improve the energy performance of existing dwellings.”  
Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, spoke about the role of protecting the natural heritage and marine in taking action against climate change. “The sustainable management and conservation of Ireland’s natural and built heritage has a critical role to play in our response to the climate and biodiversity emergency. My Department is working with Bord na Móna and other State agencies, landowners, farmers and a range of partners - as well as community groups and other stakeholders - on a number of peatlands restoration and management projects that will help lock carbon in by the restoration of raised bog and blanket bog habitats, and also through the rehabilitation of previously exploited industrial peatlands. We are also supporting research projects to assess the condition of Irish peatlands, their role in carbon cycling and the impact on national greenhouse gas emissions. Continued implementation of the National Biodiversity Action Plan 2017-2021 is another climate-related priority of mine.
“In addition to conserving marine species and habitats, Marine Protected Areas can reduce the effects of climate change and ocean acidification. Our current work aimed at creating a network of Marine Protected Areas constituting 30% of Ireland’s maritime area will also play a part in national action on climate.”
Minister of State for Planning and Local Government, Peter Burke TD, spoke of the Department’s role in reforming the planning system as part of decarbonisation. “The planning system is central to enabling decarbonisation. A central reform will be the enactment of legislation to give a legal underpinning to the new marine planning system. The Government intends publishing the Maritime Area Planning Bill in April and this Bill, when enacted, will be critical to facilitating offshore wind energy. The new marine planning system will balance our huge offshore wind energy potential with the need to protect our marine environment. I recently signed into law regulations increasing the exemptions for specified electric vehicle charging infrastructure for on-street and off-street parking locations from the requirement to obtain planning permission. I also intend to publish revised planning guidelines on wind energy developments and further exempted development regulations on solar panels as soon as practicable.”
Minister O’Brien also highlighted the role of Met Éireann, a division of the department, in national work related to climate change. “Met Éireann’s scientists continue to help us improve our understanding of Ireland’s changing climate and to co-create and deliver climate services. They will provide tools that enhance our knowledge and understanding of the impacts of climate on our decisions and actions. A changing climate will indeed affect all of us in Ireland. In that context, Met Éireann and its partners’ work in providing and analysing the latest climate information and projections to help Irish society develop plans to adapt to climate change and future extreme weather.” 
 
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Note to editors

•        Recent climate-related actions taken by the Department include:
  •    The allocation of just over €1.3 billion in Urban Regeneration and Development Fund ‘Call 2’ support to projects all across the country which aim to deliver more compact and sustainable development. €300 million support has already been allocated under ‘Call 1’ funding.
  •    Implementation of Nearly Zero Energy Building Regulations for new dwellings and major renovations to a cost-optimal level for existing buildings. The new regulations aim to make all new residential dwellings 70% more energy efficient than the performance requirements in 2005. 
  •    The Department is funding the Midlands Retrofit Scheme, which will be implemented by eight local authorities. Under the programme, selected local authority-owned houses in the Midlands region will be retrofitted to a Building Energy Rating (BER) of “B2” (or to a cost-optimal level) for which €20 million is allocated.
  •    This year, the Department is allocating €35 million for the retrofitting of 1,293 local authority houses. An additional €10 million will be allocated among local authorities that demonstrate an ability to complete additional work and spend their full allocation in 2021. Since the original scheme began in 2013 over 73,500 local authority homes have undergone energy efficiency works, principally shallow retrofits (wall and attic insulation works).
  •    The Department is a partner in a number of EU LIFE programme funded projects such as The Living Bog Project and two new LIFE Integrated Projects (IP) – ‘Peatlands and People’ and Wild Atlantic Nature - with a total budget of over €48 million. All of these aim to significantly reduce carbon emissions through restoration and other land management activities.
  •    A peatland-climate monitoring network of eight sites is being established across Ireland with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (a division of this Department) recently installing an eddy covariance flux tower at a raised bog Special Area of Conservation in Co. Offaly to measure carbon exchanges from an area of bog that is undergoing enhanced restoration works.
  •    This year, €5 million in funding is allocated by the Department to assist in the restoration up to 4,500 hectares of protected raised bogs, predominately in the midlands region.
  •    Public consultation on revised Wind Energy Development Guidelines (for onshore wind developments).
  •    Public consultation on the expert Advisory Group Report on expanding Ireland’s network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). MPAs can help reduce the effects of climate change and ocean acidification by ensuring that marine ecosystems are healthy and resilient, and that the marine environment can act as a natural carbon storage system. This consultation is live and continues until 31 July 2021.

 

•        Among the Interim Climate Actions 2021 on which the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is the lead department or a department involved in implementation are:
  •    Action 25: Extend flagship low-carbon projects to other towns and villages. extending flagship low-carbon projects to other towns and villages. This will include developing Portlaoise as a low carbon town using suite of initiatives and a range of technologies deployed to serve as demonstrator for other towns. Each local authority will identify and develop plans for one “Decarbonising Zone”.
  •    Action 27: Met Éireann to fund the TRANSLATE research project. Met Éireann will complete a draft report on standardised climate information for adaptation needs.
  •    Action 28: Met Éireann to continue to improve Ireland’s national climate monitoring capabilities through the delivery of advanced, sustainable and long-term climate and environmental monitoring programmes.
  •    Action 29: Met Éireann to continue the coordination of Irish Global Climate Observing System activities to increase national capability in earth, ocean and atmosphere observations.
  •    Action 30: Ensure that updated planning guidelines for onshore wind are published in 2021.
  •    Action 39: Conclude the review of the current planning exemptions relating to solar panels, to ensure that households, schools, and communities can be strong champions of climate action.
  •    Action 41: Ensure Offshore Renewable Energy requirements are delivered in the Maritime Area Planning Bill.
  •    Action 42: Facilitate the development of offshore wind, including the connection of at least 5GW of offshore wind, based on competitive auctions, to the grid by 2030.
  •    Action 43: Development of ports and associated infrastructure to support offshore renewable energy targets.
  •    Action 44: Develop a new consenting system for offshore renewable energy post Maritime Area Planning Bill.
  •    Action 81: Rollout of Social Housing National Retrofitting Programme with retrofitted properties required to reach BER B2 or equivalent.
  •    Action 82: Complete new build social housing to Nearly Zero Energy Building performance requirements in line with transition arrangements.
  •    Action 179: Continue to implement the third National Biodiversity Action Plan 2017-2021 and build on the commitments made at the first National Biodiversity Conference.
  •    Action 181: Coordinate the actions in the Programme for Government 2020 regarding peatlands to maximise the benefits for biodiversity and water quality.
  •    Action 189: Met Éireann to develop fluvial (river) flooding capability in the context of increased flooding risk related to climate change.
  •    Action 193: Develop comprehensive legislation for the identification, designation, and management of Marine Protected Areas in Irish marine waters.

 

•        The Interim Climate Action 2021 are available to download here: http://www.gov.ie/climateaction