INGEBW C S U P DPA ATSES I V EP A HSOSUI V S E +H O U S E +
Align all of budget 2024 with climate targets: IGBC A
ll government spending and fiscal policy should be aligned with a 50 per cent drop in emissions by 2030, the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) has said in a pre-budget submission. IGBC CEO Pat Barry said: “EPA figures released earlier this month revealed a marginal decrease of only 1.9 per cent in Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions for 2022, making it increasingly challenging to meet our climate targets. This situation emphasizes the urgency for immediate action. It’s hence critical that in 2024 all government expenditure and fiscal policies align with the objective of halving emissions by 2030”. The IGBC pre-budget submission sets out a series of recommendations to decarbonise Ireland’s built environment while tackling the housing crisis and addressing the issue of inflation in construction, including several recommendations to support better use of the existing building stock and high-quality energy renovation, as well as the development of more sustainable new homes. “Government must lead by example when providing funding for public procurement or grant aid to private developers,” said Barry. “It must require evidence of enhanced sustainability beyond minimum building standards for all new housing and construction, as is already done in other jurisdictions”. The submission also calls for the introduction of a 9 per cent VAT rate on construction products which contribute to carbon savings in the operational phase of a building life cycle, highlighting that within two years, this reduced VAT rate will be reviewed to consider embodied carbon emissions. To grow the market for sustainable materials the submission calls for financial incentives and direct funding of production facilities for biobased construction materials (such as CLT, sheep’s wool, hemp, and straw), as was done in Scotland to support the development of natural fibre construction insulation. The submission also proposes fully resourcing NSAI to make it easier and faster for new innovative, low embodied carbon materials to be placed on the Irish market without lowering standards. Taking inspiration from requirements in Germany for projects funded by stateowned investment bank KFW, the sub-
22 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 45
mission suggests new homes could be built to align with Ireland’s climate objectives using green building certifications such as the Home Performance Index or equivalent –– and first piloted on a programme where subsidies are significant, such as the Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme. The Home Performance Index (HPI) is Ireland’s national certification system for quality and sustainable residential development. The label was developed by the IGBC with support from the EPA and after extensive consultation with the industry. The HPI certification is based on verifiable indicators that are divided into five categories: environment, economic, health and wellbeing, quality assurance and sustainable location. 24,000 homes have registered for certification to date. While new homes are needed, Mr Barry stressed the absolute necessity of better supporting the reuse of our existing buildings. According to the IGBC, the carbon cost of a home deep retrofit is approximately a quarter of a new build. “Many vacant and underused properties to be retrofitted are in easily accessible locations with reduced dependence on cars. Encouraging reuse would help reduce Ireland's fastest growing carbon emissions namely from transportation. Furthermore, this approach will help provide more housing while revitalising city, town, and village centres.” Actions recommended by the IGBC to support this approach include extending the “First Home Scheme” to renovation projects in village, town and city centres, making the “vacant property refurbishment grant” available in instalments, and allocating funding and resources to pilot a one-stop shop for re-use to make it easier for building owners and prospective buyers to bring back properties into use, along with another one-stop shop pilot for traditional buildings. The submission also calls for reforms to the free energy upgrades scheme to ensure low-income households living in low BER homes are eligible – regardless of home ownership status and/or welfare payment eligibility. Other highlights from the IGBC’s budget asks for 2024 include including allocating funding for: • well-resourced community energy advice services in each local authority;
According to the IGBC, the carbon cost of a home deep retrofit is approximately a quarter of a new build.
• local authorities better supporting the re-use of construction materials, such as by providing storage facilities for large quantities of high-quality construction materials for re-use; • a warranty scheme for all SEAI’s retrofit schemes to better protect building owners and increase trust in the process; • a register of independent energy renovation advisors to make it easier for building owners to identify building professionals who have upskilled in energy renovation, hence supporting quality renovation. This would complement SEAI’s list of registered technical advisors; • piloting the introduction of Building Renovation Passports as a first step to access any single measures under the Individual Energy Upgrade Grant scheme; • allocating funding for the development of more user-friendly information for homeowners/occupants, such as to improve the technical manuals that are shared with building users post retrofit and make them available in various formats (e.g., short videos); • introducing low interest energy renovation loans as soon as possible, making sure these are true low interest loan (i.e., 1-2 per cent as per international best practice). The IGBC’s pre-budget submission was developed in close cooperation with its members and is available at www.igbc. ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ IGBC_Budget24_Final.pdf. You can find out more about the Home Performance Index at https:// homeperformanceindex.ie/