Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 15 October 2024
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action
Update on the Public Sector Climate Action Mandate: Discussion
11:00 am
Mr. David O'Brien:
It is certainly not for the OGP to set that; it entails a policy decision for other Departments and Ministers. However, it is something we are going to be incorporating within the reporting structures we are talking about so people take a much more holistic view not just of the capital cost of the asset being formed but also of the longer-term aspect. It is complex work to pull through. As I have said, we are heavily reliant on digital means to develop it properly, but we have laid the foundations for this through the new reporting structures we are putting in place. They are optional at the moment because we lack the data sets that are necessary to build up a comprehensive picture of embodied carbon in all the construction materials typically used. We are going to start by asking people to examine the carbon hotspots. I am referring to materials that generally generate a lot of embodied carbon, such as concrete. Our colleagues in the Department-----