Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 May 2024
99. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment further to Parliamentary Question No. 102 of 18 April 2024, the status of his Department’s decarbonisation Roadmaps for Ireland’s manufacturing industry and for Ireland’s commercial built environment; the timeline for publication of the two roadmaps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23076/24]
View answerClimate Action Plan 2023 included actions EN/23/3(TF) and BE/23/31(TF) to develop roadmaps for the decarbonisation of industrial heat in our manufacturing sectors, and our commercial buildings. These are being developed through the Heat and Built Environment Taskforce. My officials chair two workstreams under the Taskforce, the Industrial Heat Decarbonisation Working Group and the Commercial Built Environment Working Group.
Under the Industrial Heat Decarbonisation Working Group, this industry roadmap was due to be published in Q4 2023, but has been delayed. Drafting of the roadmap is now at final editing and design stage, and will be published in the coming weeks. The roadmap will outline the trajectory to meet these binding decarbonisation targets for industry emissions. It will also set out the key policy interventions to decarbonise heat use in industry, including the supports available to companies, the regulations to promote decarbonisation, and the enabling measure that will facilitate the transition.
The Commercial Built Environment Decarbonisation Roadmap will similarly set out the key policy interventions to achieve the objectives set out for decarbonising our commercial building stock, and will be published subsequent to the Roadmap for decarbonisation of industrial heat. In order to support businesses in decarbonising their premises, the roadmap will set out the state supports, regulations and enabling measures that will help drive the necessary changes in commercial heating systems, drive efficiencies and support the uptake of smart energy monitoring and operating technologies, which will all be required to meet the set targets.
Under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, my Department has responsibility to reduce industry on-site emissions (manufacturing, including cement and alumina) by 20% by 2025 and 35% by 2030, and alongside the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, is also committed to reducing emissions from the heating of commercial buildings by 20% by 2025 and 45% by 2030.
