Climate Change and Ireland’s
Fiscal Space
Joseph Curtin, IIEA & UCC
25 October 2016
Joint Committee on Communications Climate Action and
Environment
Five Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
(How fast) Is climate change
happening?
Did Ireland get a good deal?
What are the fiscal implications of
inaction in light of proposed EU
targets?
Is responding to climate change
possible given fiscal constraints?
How can we bring all citizens with
us?
1. (How fast) Is climate change
happening?
1. (How fast) Is climate change
happening?
2. Did Ireland get a good deal?
2. Did Ireland get a good deal?
The “Harry Potter” Proposal
Proposed target
with flexibilities:
LULUCF: 2.8MT p/a
ETS: 1.8MT p/a
Current target:
20% reduction
on 2005 by 2020
Proposed target
without flexibilities
3. What are the fiscal implications of
inaction?
Projected non-ETS emissions (EPA, 2015)
Recorded
emissions
Target
Proposed
target inc.
flexibilitie
s
Proposed
target no
flexibilities
3. What are the fiscal implications of
inaction?
4. Is responding to climate change
possible given fiscal constraints?
4. Is responding to climate change
possible given fiscal constraints?
?
5. How can we bring society with
us?
5. How can we bring society with
us?
Germany
Total
Solar Local Ownership
Wind
RES
PV
Total electricity generation
(% 2014)
Over half of total
25.8
9
5.0
investment in wind and
solar has come from local
citizen investors.
Financial incentives
Business models/legal forms
FiT for wind (1991) and solar
PV (2000) supported by soft
loans and favorable tax treatment
of profits.
Co-operatives for solar PV and
some wind projects, limited
partnerships. GmbH and Co. KG
structure for wind partnerships.
Over half of total wind Early grants (1979) replaced by
investment from local FiT and tax refund (1992) and a
FiP (2003). A co-ownership
citizen investors.
mandate and a loan guarantee
scheme to address early stage
project risk (2008).
66MW of community Quota/tender
scheme
renewable
electricity supplemented by grants (2000s)
capacity installed (2013), and a FiT (2009). FiT supported
though
increasingly by grants and a fund to provide
rapidly up to 2015.
early stage debt finance.
For-profit guild structure with cooperative-like decision-making for
majority of community-owned
projects. Growth in co-ownership
models.
For profit energy co-operatives
mostly for solar PV. Joint ventures
between aboriginal communities
groups
and
professional
developers of various types.
Denmark
53
40.5
.2
UK
19.1
9.5
.6
Ontario
28.7
4.4
Less
Increasing citizen and Experimental
FiT
(2006)
group replaced with more attractive FiT
than .1 aboriginal
with adder for community
participation since 2011.
ownership (2009) and minimum
reserve
requirement
for
community projects (2012).
Grants for early stage project
costs.
Community benefit societies,
charities, co-operatives all used,
and a variety of co-ownership
models emerging since 2014.
Thank you
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