Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 January 2023
162. Deputy Brian Leddin asked the Minister for Finance if the potential for establishing Ireland as an international financing centre for renewable energy projects, akin to that in the aviation sector, has been examined; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3142/23]
View answerIn order to meet the targets and objectives of the Climate Action Plan 2023, the private sector is being guided towards financing the necessary investments within their own activities and through the supply chains they influence.
The financial services sector has a pivotal role in facilitating such activities and accelerating the implementation of Ireland’s Climate Action Plans and transition to net zero. For years, Ireland has prioritised developing our sustainable finance sector, as part of our international financial services strategy, Ireland for Finance, and in our engagement at EU level.
At EU level, Ireland works to ensure the regulatory framework for sustainable finance is ambitious and transparent while remaining usable for companies. Ireland provided input to the European Commission as it developed its 2021 Strategy for financing the transition to a sustainable economy. We engage continuously with our European partners on the legislative proposals and other actions.
At national level, in 2019, the Ireland for Finance strategy developed by my Department set out sustainable finance as a horizontal priority, and the 2022 update develops on that prioritisation, making sustainable finance the first theme. Successive Ireland for Finance Action Plans have set out targeted measures aimed at developing the sector, as has 2021’s Sustainable Finance Roadmap. In addition to fostering a regulatory framework that enables a high quality and transparent sustainable finance sector, these measures seek to improve industry readiness and build skills in order for firms to be able to expand their sustainable investments while complying with EU requirements.
My Department’s actions at EU level and domestically aim to support a well-functioning, well-equipped and well-regulated sustainable finance sector. These actions are linked to Ireland’s overarching climate action targets and in particular the Climate Action Plan 2023. This sets out how Ireland can accelerate the actions that are required to respond to the climate crisis, putting climate solutions at the centre of Ireland’s social and economic development. The plan implements the carbon budgets and sectoral emissions ceilings and sets out a roadmap for taking decisive action to more than halve our emissions by 2030 and reach net zero no later than 2050.
The types of investments set out in the climate action plan should guide the private sector towards financing the necessary investments to decarbonise and electrify every sector. These include, for example, renewable energy, public transport and electric vehicles, home renovations, forestry and food systems.
Specifically with regard to renewable energy, wind and solar energy will play a critical role in this accelerated transition, with onshore wind continuing to be one of the leading cost-effective technologies to achieve our renewable electricity and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, as well as displacing emissions in other sectors, including household heating and vehicle transport. The delivery of additional onshore renewable electricity generation will be key to successfully meeting the ambitious targets outlined in the European Green Deal and Ireland’s Climate Action Plan 2023 as well as to protecting against security of supply risks.
In addition, as set out in CAP23, Government has agreed to increase our ambition in solar up to 5GW, and in offshore wind energy to 5GW, with an additional 2GW earmarked for green hydrogen production by 2030 and a long-term plan to take advantage of a potential of at least 30GW of floating wind thereafter.
