The Green Transition Fund is part of Ireland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The total budget of €55m for the fund is split into two streams, the Enterprise Emissions Reduction Investment Fund (€30m) and the Climate Planning Fund for Business (€25m) which will both run from 2022 through to 2026.
The Fund contains a range of supports to help businesses make the green transition including: vouchers to help companies prepare a plan for the low carbon and resource efficient economy of the future; capital support for companies to invest in decarbonising their manufacturing processes; and grants to explore the development of new or improved products, services or processes in the areas of sustainability and decarbonisation.
The Climate Planning Fund for Business (CPFB) has seen 185 approved projects with an associated value of €1.4 million, up to the end of September this year.
This compliments the Enterprise Emissions Reduction Investment Fund (EERIF) which has 33 approved projects to date, with an associated value of €5.5 million. Consequently, there has been a total approval value of roughly €7 million across both streams of the Fund, up to the end of September 2023.
It takes a while for businesses to assess what interventions they need to make, so we see a significant lead-in time between companies developing an plan, and later seeking support for specific investments. There has been substantial growth in project approvals under the fund in 2023 so far compared to 2022 when the Fund was launched. I expect that demand will grow considerably in 2024 as awareness and appetite among industry continues to accelerate.
The performance of the Green Transition Fund is monitored by the European Commission in line with milestones and targets agreed for Fund in the Operating Arrangement between Ireland and the European Commission, which defines targets for each project under the whole of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. These targets are binding and failure to meet these targets and milestones will result in financial penalties for Ireland.
The enterprise development agencies are proactively promoting the Fund to client companies in order to ensure the relevant targets are achieved. Officials in my Department monitor the performance and take-up of the Fund on an ongoing basis, receiving updates on the pipeline of projects, profile of spending, and projected carbon abetment.
In addition to the Green Transition Fund, both Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland are supporting the green transition of enterprise and the decarbonisation of manufacturing through other schemes such as Environmental Aid and the Sustainable Recovery Scheme.
