The conclusion of the latest report from the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) that Ireland is well off track in upgrading homes and commercial buildings to be more energy efficient comes as little surprise. As with elsewhere in climate policy, progress is being made but at far too slow a pace.
Emissions from homes fell by 5 per cent last year, but much of this was due to a milder winter which meant heating was not turned on as often. Looking out to 2030, both the residential and commercial sectors are set to miss their targets by substantial amounts.
The council underlines the need for a rapid acceleration in the retrofitting of homes and the take up of heat pumps – moving home heating from reliance on fossil fuels to electricity. Around 90 per cent of heating demand is still met by fossil fuels – oil and gas. It also makes the case for greater use of solar energy, including in apartments.
In terms of retrofitting, this was completed – to a Ber B2 standard or better – on 84,270 homes by the end of last year, compared to a 2025 target of 120,000. The total number of heat pumps installed between 2019 and 2025 was 18,580 against a target of 45,000.
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New Government incentives have increased demand, but the significant cost of the retrofitting standard needed to install a heat pump and the upheaval of getting the work done is still holding back many households. The Government is also behind in retrofitting its own housing stock.
The CCAC makes the case for accelerating progress, in the context of meeting Ireland’s climate targets. It urges the Government to publish the delayed National Building Renovation Plan, which is intended to provide the strategy for getting from where Ireland is now to where it needs to be. As with many areas of the State’s climate strategy, the targets are there but a realistic implementation plan is not. And this lack of clarity goes right to the core of the strategy, which requires the development of extensive offshore wind farms.
In terms of households, a recent Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) report raised some vital points. It highlighted how the Government faces a trade off in terms of allocating scarce building resources to retrofitting, working on new homes and national infrastructure. It made the case for focusing retrofitting supports on households with the highest emissions. And for considering interim measures, such as moving houses on home heating oil to gas boilers which can in time use more sustainable fuels.
The Government’s strategy needs to be ambitious but also realistic. It needs to outline clearly how the trade-offs will be addressed and how it will incentivise households to do what is needed. The EU- mandated target of getting rid of fossil fuel boilers by 2040 looks a long way off.
