Dr. Fionn Rogan:

We recently did a project on the opportunities associated with the transition to a low-carbon economy in Ireland. There are a few technology areas we explored in greater detail to understand the opportunity and potential. To pick up on some of what Brían said, there is a potential resource regarding biogas and freight. There is also an existing gas network which could be ungraded to use with renewable energy. With the right mix of incentives, whether that is the right level of carbon tax or a grant, a lot of progress could be made. There is a great deal of potential also from energy efficiency in industry and we have also developed some smart digital tools to sustain energy savings in industry settings in Ireland. Wave energy innovation is another area we have looked at as to the policy and technology needs. We have done some initial analysis on the risks and returns of different technology. There is uncertainty about how technologies will development and how the cost and mix of technologies will develop over time. One of the risks we considered in our risk-return matrix was political risk and how uncertainty in carbon prices or around political decisions can negatively affect investment. Political leadership and cross-party agreement on climate change can mitigate that risk, strengthen the investment case and ease the pathways to a low-carbon economy. They are all challenging but that is an area where the risk can be mitigated.