Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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280. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress in emission reduction targets in areas that are the responsibility of his Department; which measures are particularly successful and which measures are underperforming; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67047/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, my Department has responsibility to reduce industry on-site emissions by 20% by 2025 and 35% by 2030, and by 20% and 45% respectively for commercial buildings emissions.

Reaching our decarbonisation targets for industry and commercial premises will require businesses to make investments in new processes, heating systems and efficiency, shifting away from those that rely on fossil fuels and other unsustainable practices. The state is supporting these investments through our enterprise development agencies. We are working with them more closely than ever to ensure decarbonisation happens in a way that improves the competitiveness and resilience of our economy, rather than harming it. Helping industry to engage with, adapt to, and realise opportunities from this transition, will be critical to the long-term, sustainable growth of Irish enterprise and competitiveness in global markets.

Last year I published the Roadmap for the Decarbonisation of Industrial Heat. It outlines the necessary trajectory to meet our binding greenhouse gas abatement targets for industry, and decarbonise our manufacturing sectors, including the cement, metals, food, drink and life sciences sectors. The Roadmap sets out the key policy interventions to decarbonise heat use by industry.

To meet the complementary competitiveness and decarbonisation objectives, I launched a €300m Environmental Aid Fund in June 2024 alongside the publication of the Roadmap. The Fund is being used by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to support investment in energy efficiency and promote the uptake of energy from renewable sources.

The enterprise agencies, IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, have approved 30 investments since the fund launched to a value of €132m, with associated emissions savings of approximately 146,000 tonnes of CO2 following the completion of these projects. The agencies are also supporting 29 projects that predate the fund which are valued at €61.8m and have an expected emissions savings of 98,000 tonnes of CO2.

The manufacture of cement is a significant proportion of industry’s emissions and accounts for over 40% of industrial emissions and around 5% of national emissions. Specifically, Cement sector emissions decreased by 15.6% between 2023 and 2024, now accounting for 2.3 million tonnes of CO2.

In 2024, my department published public procurement guidance, which was issued to all Government departments and Local Authorities, to enable the procurement of lower carbon cement and concrete for public projects commencing design from 1st September 2024.

This is part of a ‘multi-pronged’ approach to decarbonising the cement sector. My department engages directly with the sector and chairs the cross-governmental ‘Cement and Construction Sector Decarbonisation Working Group’. My Department is engaging with the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), including its concrete standards committee, to harmonise Irish standards with EU regulations and enable innovation in low-carbon construction materials.

To stimulate demand for renewable biogases and other renewable fuels, the forthcoming Renewable Heat Obligation will create a market for renewable heating fuels such as biomethane. The scheme encourages sourcing biomethane from indigenous Irish producers, creating economic opportunities in rural areas and helping meet the government’s target of 5.7 TWh of biomethane per year by 2030, while also boosting energy security and reducing fossil fuel imports.

There is now growing evidence of a decoupling of industry emissions from economic growth, with emissions having decreased by 4.6% in 2024 relative to 2023 and overall, by 13.6% relative to 2018. Fuel switching away from more carbon intensive fossil fuels to lower carbon and renewable fuels is driving this change. We now need a further shift to electrification in manufacturing processes and improved uptake of renewable bioenergy sources such as biomass and biomethane to deliver on the national abatement targets for industry.

Commercial buildings emissions have reduced by 11.2% or 98,000 tCO2eq. between 2018 and 2024. However, emissions increase by 8.2% over 2023 levels due to an increase in heating degree days in 2024, meaning and increased need for space heating in businesses such as offices, retail units, and hotels on the cold days of the year. The general trajectory remains downward, despite these fluctuations.

My Department, and key state agencies, will continue working to ensure that all businesses in Ireland are activated and engaged in the green transition and the broader sustainability agenda. This will be a crucial component of ensuring Ireland’s economy remains competitive, resilience and sustainable as we progress towards our target to be net zero by 2050.