Ireland‘s government needs to make addressing rising emissions in the built environment a priority, as well as provide wider supports for heat pumps and solar PV adoption, the Climate Change Advisory Council has said.
According to the Council, improved supports, such as grants, for retrofitting, heat pumps and solar PV, are necessary to improve energy efficiency and lower emissions and support resilience among households. In particular, it recommends increased funding for retrofitting Local Authority housing.
While progress has been made in retrofitting and energy upgrades, emissions in residential buildings rose by 4.9% last year, while in commercial and public buildings, emissions were up 7.9%, the Council noted. Both sectors are expected to exceed their sectoral emissions ceilings.
By contrast, industrial emissions reduced by 4.6% last year, largely due to a decline in cement volumes.
‘Urgent action’
“The built environment is the only sector that saw emissions increase in 2024,” commented Marie Donnelly, chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council. “Government must urgently take action to increase the availability of grants for households focussed on the uptake of heat pumps and maintain the level of grants for the installation of solar PV.
“This will not only help achieve our climate targets, but it will also reduce energy costs for consumers and improve the warmth of people’s homes. In addition, the Council has previously said that the roll out of smart metres must be better utilised to help customers to save money, change consumption patterns and reduce emissions.”
Donnelly welcomed the recent allocation of funds for district heating projects across Ireland, which should “stabilise costs” for consumers and protect Ireland from often-volatile fossil fuel prices.
Weather resilience
She also called for greater resilience towards extreme weather events, noting that recent storms, such as Storm Éowyn, “highlight how vulnerable our communities are to extreme winds and flooding.
“To increase community resilience, we need to ensure that planning guidelines are properly followed so that new housing is not built in locations at risk from future flooding and does not lead to increased vulnerability and maladaptation.” Read more here.
Council has today published its Annual Review of the Built Environment, Industry and Waste sectors. Urgent action is needed to tackle emissions from the Built Environment sector which rose last year. Read the press release here: https://t.co/LfXMVjwl5J pic.twitter.com/z60mk9tZVm
— Climate Change Advisory Council Ireland (@CCACIreland) September 3, 2025
