Irish Energy Policy

Programme for Government 2025

The Programme for Government 2025 outlines several key initiatives aimed at enhancing Ireland's energy policy. The Government is committed to achieving a 7% annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2021 to 2030, aiming for a 51% reduction over the decade and net zero emissions by 2050. It commits to continue publishing an annual Climate Action Plan, though placing a focus on a smaller number of strategic and impactful actions across all sectors.

To support the transition to biomethane, the Government will offer financial incentives as part of the National Biomethane Strategy. This Strategy targets the production of up to 5.7 terawatt-hours (TWh) of biomethane by 2030, which will significantly contribute to the country's renewable energy mix.

In addition to biomethane, the Government is also focusing on hydrogen as a key component of its energy policy. Green hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources, has the potential to play a crucial role in decarbonising various sectors, including transportation, industry, and power generation. The Government plans to support research and development in hydrogen technologies and promote the adoption of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier.

The Government is committed to decarbonising road freight and commercial coaches by promoting the use of alternative fuels such as hydrogen and biomethane. This initiative aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support the country's overall climate goals. Furthermore, the Government aims to take all necessary action to ensure and protect Ireland’s energy security.

The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021

The Irish government enacted the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 to provide the legal framework nationally for reducing GHG emissions and transitioning to a climate-neutral economy by 2050, as well as a 51% reduction in emissions by 2030. The Act sets out the requirement for sectoral emissions ceilings (SEC), which limit GHG emissions for different sectors of the economy, including electricity, transport, buildings, industry, and agriculture, and five yearly carbon budgets which limit the total amount of GHGs that can be emitted in Ireland over a specific period, with the first budget covering 2021-2025.

Carbon budgets

Ireland’s carbon budget programme, comprising three 5-year budgets (2021-2025; 2026-2030; and 2031-2035), came into effect on 6 April 2022. A carbon budget represents the total amount of emissions, measured in tonnes of CO2 equivalent, that may be emitted by a country or region during a specific time period. The carbon budget for the period 2021-2025 aims to reduce emissions by 4.8% on average annually for five years, while the second budget from 2026-2030 will look to up that annual reduction to 8.3%. The budgets are further broken down into sectoral emissions ceilings, which determine how each sector of the economy contributes to the achievement of the carbon budgets.

Sectoral Emissions Ceiling

The sectoral emissions ceilings have been set for the electricity, transport, buildings, industry and agriculture sectors, with reductions in emissions ranging from 25% to 75% per sector by 2030, relative to 2018 emission levels. In addition, the agreement reached on sectoral emissions ceilings also commits additional resources for solar (more than doubling the target to 5,500 MW), off-shore wind (moving from a target of 5,000 MW to 7,000 MW), green hydrogen (an additional 2,000 MW), anaerobic digestion (up to 5.7 TWh of biomethane) – to further accelerate the reduction of overall economy-wide emissions.

Ireland's Climate Action Plan

Ireland's Climate Action Plan (CAP), which is updated annually, provides the strategic framework for reducing GHG emissions in line with the Irelands legally binding targets. It outlines key performance indicators and actions to be undertaken to achieve the climate goals across different sectors.

Ireland first published Climate Action Plans in 2019 and 2021 on a non-statutory basis. Since 2023 however, Climate Action Plans have been published annually as statutory annual updates as required under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, with three statutory update plans now published for years 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Climate Action Plan 2024, published December 2023, builds on previous Climate Action Plans and is the framework through which the government intends to meet the legally-binding, economy-wide carbon budgets and sectoral emissions ceilings. Climate Action Plan 2025, published in April 2025, should be read in conjunction with Climate Action Plan 2024. Key actions to be delivered as per CAP 2025 include a detailed implementation plan and appropriate governance arrangements for the National Hydrogen Strategy, and development of a Renewable Heat Obligation Scheme in the heat sector and incentivizing the production of indigenous biomethane.

National Hydrogen Strategy

The National Hydrogen Strategy sets out the strategic vision on the role that hydrogen will play in Ireland's energy system, looking to its long-term role as a key component of a zero-carbon economy, and the short-term actions that need to be delivered over the coming years to enable the development of the hydrogen sector in Ireland.

The Strategy has been developed for three primary reasons:

Decarbonising our economy, providing a solution to hard to decarbonise sectors where electrification is not feasible, or cost effective.
Enhancing our energy security, through the development of an indigenous zero carbon renewable fuel which can act as an alternative to the 77% of our energy system which today relies on fossil fuel imports.
Developing industrial opportunities, through the potential development of export markets for renewable hydrogen and other areas such as Sustainable Aviation Fuels.

The Strategy assesses both the long-term and short-term actions to enable hydrogen to develop across the entire value chain, covering six core areas:

Hydrogen Production: Ireland will prioritise the scale up and production of renewable hydrogen. Prior to 2030, hydrogen will be produced from grid connected electrolysis from surplus renewables. 2GW target of offshore wind, for the production of renewable hydrogen, to be in development by 2030. In the long-term Ireland can develop a decarbonised industrial opportunity and become a net exporter of renewable hydrogen.
End Uses of Renewable Hydrogen: The deployment of renewable hydrogen in Ireland will focus on hard-to-abate sectors where energy efficiency and direct electrification are not feasible or cost-effective solutions. Initial focus on heavy duty transport, closely followed by industry and flexible power generation, including long-duration energy storage. Blending in the gas network could play an enabling role (supply of last resort) and could offer an early commercial market for renewable hydrogen producers.
Transportation, Storage, and Infrastructure: Initial hydrogen applications likely to use compressed tankering solutions. Subsequent infrastructure expected across several regional clusters where production, high priority demand and large-scale storage are co-located. The expansion and linking of these clusters into a national hydrogen network will be key to creating a liquid mature hydrogen market. Where feasible, repurposing existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure to hydrogen is favourable. The cost of repurposing existing pipelines is 10-35% compared to the cost of building new hydrogen pipelines.
Hydrogen storage will play a key role in Ireland's future energy system; balancing fluctuations in supply form variable renewables and seasonality changes in end user demand, and providing energy security in case of unforeseen supply disruption and helping to reduce any related price volatility.
Safety and Regulation: Hydrogen safety is essential and early focus is needed to develop a safety roadmap to deliver the necessary safety frameworks and regulatory regimes across the entire hydrogen value chain. Standards and regulatory regimes developed in Ireland must also be done in a manner which is in line with European policy, legislation and considerate of other international partners as much as possible.
Research, Cooperation and Scaling Up: Targeted, short-term research needs have been identified throughout the National Hydrogen Strategy which will be essential to ensuring future informed policy making. Ireland will enable the development of a small number of hydrogen demonstration projects during the 2020s, and in parallel work to deliver the requisite safety and regulatory regimes.
Delivery and implementation: A strategic hydrogen development timeline roadmap sets out the vision for how hydrogen economy is expected to develop and scale up over the coming decades, across the entire value chain as well as a list of 21 actions published as part of the National Hydrogen Strategy.

National Biomethane Strategy

As a first step to deliver on Ireland’s ambitious biomethane production target of 5.7 TWh per annum by 2030 and to develop a biomethane industry of scale, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications co-developed the National Biomethane Strategy. In the Strategy it was outlined that without biomethane, Ireland is unlikely to meet its legally binding climate target.

The Strategy also recognises biomethane injection into the national gas network as being crucial to the successful development of a biomethane sector in Ireland and transporting biomethane via gas pipeline is the most efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective method of transporting to end users.

The Renewable Heat Obligation scheme, expected to be implemented in 2026, and a €40 million Biomethane Capital Grant Scheme are timely and welcome as the first steps in supporting biomethane market development in Ireland. The 2025 Programme for Government commits to continue offering financial incentives to help achieve the National Biomethane Strategy targets. In their Sectoral Capital Plan 2026 to 2030, DCEE announced an allocation of capital funding for Biomethane in the range of €100m - €200m to be sourced from the Infrastructure Climate and Nature Fund.

Renewable Heat Obligation

The Renewable Heat Obligation (RHO) would require the suppliers of energy used in the heat sector in Ireland to ensure a certain proportion of energy supplied is renewable. An obligation in the heat sector will incentivise the use of renewable heat while spreading the obligation across all non-renewable fuel types. This model of targets and market support is the basis of the successful growth of renewable electricity in Ireland and of renewable gas throughout Europe, and if enacted will drive the growth of biomethane production in Ireland.

Ireland’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) recognises that a renewable source of liquid and gaseous fuels will need to be established in Ireland for heating purposes, especially to decarbonise high temperature heat where electricity may not provide a practical solution.

In July 2025, DCEE received cabinet approval for drafting of the Renewable Heat Obligation Bill 2025, to provide a legislative basis for administration of the RHO. DCEE also published the draft Heads of Bill at this time. The Bill includes a specific measure to provide support to indigenously produced biomethane. This measure will be subject to formal notification at EU level and require justification for its inclusion. This process takes a number months to complete, during which time Ireland cannot enact the legislation.

Overall, Gas Networks Ireland believes measures to encourage the deployment of renewable gas solutions such as a Renewable Heat Obligation are appropriate to increase the share of renewable energy in the heating sector.

Renewable Transport Fuel Policy 2023-2025

This policy concerns the supply of renewable transport fuels (RTF) and the proposed actions over the next two years concerning The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) to achieving greater renewable energy in transport in line with European requirements and national climate action objectives.

One of the main measures that Ireland introduced in order to help meet EU targets for renewable energy in the transport sector is The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (which was previously the Biofuels Obligation Scheme (BOS)). It sets out an obligation that suppliers of road transport fuels must include a certain percentage of renewable fuels (including biofuels) across their general fuel mix. To date, biofuel has been the primary mechanism used to increase the share of renewable energy in the transport sector and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Following a commitment in November 2021 by Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, to include incentives to develop the supply of renewable fuels including advanced biofuels and alternative transport fuel, such as biomethane and green hydrogen, biomethane used to fuel CNG and LNG vehicles is now recognised by the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, and it is proposed to include green hydrogen in this obligation once the revised EU Renewable Energy Directive comes into force.

Using biomethane will be particularly beneficially as biomethane can flow into the transport sector via Compressed Natural Gas filling stations connected to the existing gas network, leading to a more efficient energy transition in the transport sector by using existing infrastructure.

Energy Security in Ireland to 2030

The ‘Energy Security in Ireland to 2030’ report outlines a new strategy to ensure energy security in Ireland for this decade, while ensuring a sustainable transition to a carbon neutral energy system by 2050. The comprehensive report, which has 28 actions in total, is a roadmap to ensuring a sustainable, affordable and secure energy landscape that balances energy risk and resilience against our binding European and domestic energy and climate commitments. The report was published as part of an Energy Security Package, containing a range of supplementary analyses, consultations, and reviews, which have informed the recommendations and actions related to energy security.

A number of the actions in the report set out that renewable gas, the existing gas network and renewable compatible gas storage will play a crucial role in Ireland’s energy security in addition to achieving our climate targets.

In recognition of the fundamental role the gas network currently plays, and will continue to play, in underpinning security of supply across the energy system, the Government have actioned a detailed examination of the optimal approach to delivering a strategic gas emergency reserve (SGER), to address potential disruption to Irelands gas supply, Action 17. Gas Networks Ireland, the CRU, and DCEE have been tasked with the accelerated delivery of this action. In November 2025, Gas Networks Ireland announced the preferred location for the SGER in Cahiracon, County Clare, along the Shannon Estuary.

Establishing large scale renewable gas compatible storage offers permanent and sustainable security of supply to Ireland’s energy system. Action 14 sets out that studies will be finalised to inform the development of long-term gas storage solutions which can store renewable gas, in particular hydrogen.

Indigenous renewable gases such as biomethane and green hydrogen will play a larger role and a critical component in Ireland’s future decarbonised energy system. The National Biomethane Strategy identifies all necessary actions to deliver the national target of up to 5.7TWh by 2030. The National Hydrogen Strategy, published in July 2023, will support delivering the full potential of this resource in Ireland.

As Ireland increases renewable gas production, the role that the existing natural gas network plays will need to evolve. Action 16 will ensure a fit-for-purpose gas network that supports Ireland’s energy and climate ambition. It will consider how such infrastructure can be used to transport zero carbon generation in the future and determine the long-term infrastructure investments needed to support this.

National Energy Demand Strategy (NEDS)

The NEDS is a comprehensive plan developed by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) to address Ireland's growing energy demand over the next decade. The strategy was published on July 25, 2024, and includes an implementation plan with a list of recommendations and time-bound actions.

The core objectives of the NEDS are to ensure that overall electricity and gas demand is consistent with Ireland’s carbon sectoral emissions ceilings (SECs) and to deliver demand flexibility as outlined in the Climate Action Plan.

The Strategy tasks Gas Network Ireland with the development of scenarios to define the future role of the gas network, ensuring a fit for purpose gas grid that supports Ireland’s energy and climate ambition.