Full coverage: Energy

The stubborn public perception that someone else will have to change their lifestyle to cut greenhouse gas emissions can give the impression that only innovation will solve the problem. The government's home retrofit scheme reaches into this gap.

The Dublin start-up has been growing sales of energy-saving lights and solar panels as a service to business customers. Its co-founder Kevin Maughan says this model is on the cusp of becoming a mainstream product.

Ten business leaders at the forefront of the transformation to a low-carbon future share their hopes and fears as Ireland gets to grips with global climate change.

The publication of the Climate Action Plan and the mixed reaction to COP26 at the end of last year set the scene for an acceleration of climate policy. This two-part series explores the joined-up approach required to harness the power of business in this effort.

Current energy and transport plans show lessons from the hundreds of millions of euros wasted on peat-fired power stations have not been learned. Existing rules provide for the scrutiny needed to avoid this, but government departments simply ignore them.

From the global politics of climate change to the reality of Europe’s geography, Eddie O’Connor is convinced that his new business enabling long-distance electricity transport will play a crucial part in the transition to renewable energy. But he is scathing about Ireland’s ability to support such innovation.

The latest Climate Action Plan falls short of the Government's own targets, showing that ministers continue to dither on making hard decisions. By default, a growing share of steeper efforts will fall on electricity generation – and there, at least, some action is happening.

The French energy giant EDF made a remarked Irish entrance when it bought into the country’s largest planned wind farm a year and a half ago. The Currency can now reveal how much it paid Johnny and Conor Ronan and Richard Barrett in the deal – and how much it has yet to pay them.

OPEC has the ability to raise production levels of oil quite easily, but it seems that political pressure would have to increase massively before this happens. The bottom line is that consumers will have to get used to higher oil prices.

The Climate Change Advisory Council has laid out what is feasible to cut Ireland’s greenhouse gas emission by half in ten years. It boils down to balancing disruption between the power, transport and heat used by every home and business or the agri-food sector supporting entire rural communities.