Ireland’s Low-Carbon Transition: The Infrastructure Imperative
Ireland’s commitment to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future demands nothing short of a national transformation—across energy, transport, industry and the built environment. But decarbonising at this scale requires more than technical fixes or ad hoc green gestures. It calls for a systemic, coordinated approach to infrastructure development: one that embeds sustainability not only in outcomes, but in strategy, governance and delivery.
From planning policy to procurement models, Ireland is under increasing pressure to ensure that its infrastructure investment aligns with its climate commitments while also delivering economic resilience and social equity. This article examines how the infrastructure sector is responding, the innovations shaping its evolution, and the risks of falling short.
Aligning Infrastructure with Ireland’s Climate Roadmap
The journey to a low-carbon future hinges on infrastructure. Whether decarbonising the grid, electrifying transport or upgrading the building stock, infrastructure is both the enabler and the battleground. Ireland’s Climate Action Plan 2024[1] puts infrastructure investment at the core of its strategy, calling for a "whole-of-government" approach to climate alignment. But in practice, implementation remains fragmented.
Key sectors—energy, transport, water and construction—still operate with uneven alignment. Each operates with its own carbon accounting, funding cycles and regulatory frameworks—leading to mismatched baselines, delayed approvals and inefficiencies in capital allocation. This siloed approach undermines efficiency, drives up long-term costs and weakens climate accountability.
The Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund (ICNF), established under the Future Ireland Fund and ICNF Act 2024, marks a move toward more integrated, forward-looking infrastructure financing. With €2 billion contributed annually through to 2030, the ICNF is expected to accumulate around €14 billion by the end of the decade. From 2026, the Government may draw down up to 22.5% of the fund each year—capped at a total of €3.15 billion—specifically for climate and nature-related projects.[2] While this structure supports initiatives with both environmental and social value, joined-up funding is only part of the equation.
Translating ambition into outcomes remains difficult. A 2025 government taskforce reported a 20% year-on-year rise in judicial review challenges[3], underscoring how legal, regulatory and procedural delays continue to slow delivery and inflate risk. These delays are especially acute in complex infrastructure schemes, where intersecting planning, environmental and procurement rules create administrative bottlenecks.
There is also growing tension between the urgency of delivery and the integrity of process. Accelerating infrastructure to meet decarbonisation goals can, if mismanaged, sideline environmental safeguards or public consultation. As Ireland pushes to scale delivery, the challenge is not simply to move faster—but to do so without compromising trust, quality or long-term resilience.
Cross-Border Integration and the All-Island Lens
Sustainability doesn’t stop at borders. As Ireland advances its climate-aligned infrastructure agenda, deeper integration with Northern Ireland—and the UK more broadly—emerges not just as a necessity, but as a strategic opportunity.
Concrete delivery is already underway. The DART+ Coastal North project[4] will electrify the northern commuter rail corridor between Malahide and Drogheda, expanding capacity and reducing emissions. Meanwhile, the Enterprise fleet replacement programme[5], supported by €165 million in PEACEPLUS funding, will introduce new battery-electric trains on the Dublin–Belfast line, enabling faster, more frequent, and lower-carbon cross-border services. Both projects reflect a growing alignment between jurisdictions around shared transport and climate goals.
However, risks of divergence are growing. While the Windsor Framework[6] helps maintain regulatory alignment in Northern Ireland, the UK’s Procurement Act and broader deregulatory tendencies could gradually erode coherence over time. Differences in long-term planning frameworks—such as Ireland’s National Development Plan (2021–2030)[7] versus Northern Ireland’s more fragmented and politically disrupted capital planning—add further complexity.
While all-island governance mechanisms and projects already exist, including the Shared Island Fund[8] and the All‑Island Strategic Rail Review[9], a fully integrated, statutory all‑island infrastructure strategy—covering energy, water, transport, digital and climate-adaptation systems—is yet to be realised. Existing structures are sector-specific and heavily reliant on voluntary cooperation. A formal strategy with joint planning authority, cross-sector capital frameworks and shared evaluation mechanisms would unlock economies of scale, reduce policy divergence and attract cross-border investment.
Case Study: Ameresco CNZ Portfolio – Scaling Decarbonisation Across Sectors
Ameresco’s Carbon Net Zero (CNZ) portfolio demonstrates what coordinated action looks like at scale across diverse sectors and geographies.
G&T has been embedded in a major delivery partner’s capital portfolio to provide Project Management Office, Project Controls, Quantity Surveying and Project Management advisory support across their projects, leading a team of specialist engineers and project professionals to ensure projects are delivered on time and to budget. This includes projects from major wind and solar developments to localised renewables, a national EV charging roll-out, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and large-scale energy-efficient retrofits of buildings and estates. Retrofit measures include air-source heat pumps, M&E improvements, BMS/sensor optimisation, building fabric and small-scale renewable energy—applied across private organisations, local government infrastructure and buildings of cultural significance.
The breadth of this programme highlights the need for systemic capacity: aligning feasibility, procurement, construction and operation under a coherent climate-aligned lens. It reflects the very challenges Ireland faces—where ambitions cut across energy, transport, public buildings and digital systems, but delivery remains siloed.
By embedding digital tools, rigorous programme controls, and portfolio-level oversight, initiatives like Ameresco’s CNZ portfolio show how fragmentation can be overcome. For Ireland, the implication is that achieving its climate goals is less about invention and more about scaling proven approaches—provided governance, funding and delivery capacity align.
Local Capacity: The Missing Piece in Delivery
While national frameworks and climate targets set the strategic direction, the heavy lifting of delivery often rests with local authorities—many of which are already operating under significant strain.
Planning departments face acute staffing shortages, limited budgets and persistent gaps in climate and digital expertise. Despite the introduction of Green Public Procurement (GPP) guidelines among central Government departments, application remains uneven and inconsistent. Crucially, tracking and enforcement mechanisms are lacking, reducing GPP to a tick-box exercise more often than not.
To unlock delivery, local authorities must be equipped with modern digital tools (eg carbon calculators, GIS systems, procurement dashboards), peer-learning networks and access to regional technical advisors. Training must extend beyond planners to include legal, financial, and procurement staff.
Without a deliberate effort to build delivery capacity from the ground up, Ireland’s national ambitions risk stalling— not due to policy gaps, but due to lack of local implementation firepower.
Digital Infrastructure: A Hidden Enabler of Decarbonisation
Digitalisation and decarbonisation are no longer parallel ambitions—they are deeply intertwined. From smart grids to mobility-as-a-service platforms, data and connectivity underpin the functioning of low-carbon systems. Without a robust digital backbone, much of the sustainability agenda remains aspirational.
Ireland’s National Broadband Plan[10] is a key enabler—particularly for rural communities, where high-speed connectivity reduces car dependency through remote work, digital health services, e-learning and intelligent mobility networks. But digital infrastructure must go beyond broadband.
To manage rising electrification and integrate renewables at scale, Ireland’s energy grid will need to roughly double in capacity by 2050. Grid operators are trialling AI-enabled, software-defined networks to coordinate demand, distributed generation, EV charging and storage—transforming the grid from a passive utility into an intelligent, low-carbon platform.[11]
Meanwhile, digital twin technology—paired with live sensor data—is emerging as a powerful planning tool. It allows local authorities and infrastructure providers to simulate future energy use, stress-test decarbonisation pathways and optimise systems before breaking ground. In Limerick, a city-scale digital twin revealed that existing Climate Action Plan measures could fall 25–33% short of emissions targets—demonstrating the role of digital modelling in exposing policy blind spots and strengthening delivery strategies.[12]
In transport, pilot projects such as Ireland’s first Smart Demand-Responsive Transport (DRT) trial in Achill—launched in July 2025 under the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan—demonstrate how real-time mobility data and app-based systems can reduce private car use, optimise bus routes, and increase public transport uptake. Designed to pick up passengers on-demand, the TFI Anseo app helps cut emissions through flexible scheduling, improved network efficiency and supporting an accelerated rural shift to cleaner, shared mobility.[13]
New major projects should be required to integrate digital twins, IoT sensors, and predictive analytics as standard—not as innovation, but as basic infrastructure hygiene. These tools optimise design and maintenance, reduce lifecycle emissions, and enhance transparency for carbon reporting. Embedding digital capabilities at programme level—not as an afterthought—could deliver step-change improvements in decarbonisation performance and long-term accountability.
Resilience Isn’t Optional: The Adaptation Imperative
While carbon reduction remains centre stage, the climate crisis is already here—and adaptation can no longer be deferred. Infrastructure must now be designed not only to reduce emissions, but to withstand more frequent and severe weather extremes.
Ireland is already feeling the strain. According to Ireland’s first National Climate Change Risk Assessment (NCCRA)[14], critical infrastructure faces rising exposure to coastal and fluvial flooding, extreme wind, heat stress and water scarcity. Storm Éowyn in January 2025—Ireland’s most damaging storm in over 60 years—left more than 768,000 homes without power and caused over €230 million in damages, highlighting the high cost of reactive infrastructure strategies.[15]
The planning mindset must shift from designing for historical averages to engineering for extremes. This means rethinking siting, materials, standards and operational assumptions across sectors.
Key adaptation priorities include:
- Flood-resilient transport corridors and coastal defences, with updated design standards embedded into national frameworks (eg Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s climate resilience guidance[16])
- Passive cooling and thermal resilience in public, healthcare and social buildings to reduce overheating risk
- Blue-green infrastructure—nature-based systems like rain gardens, wetlands, green roofs, and permeable surfaces that manage stormwater, reduce flood risk and help cool urban areas
The decisions made today—on infrastructure design, investment, and maintenance—will either buffer or amplify climate risk for decades to come. Building in resilience is now essential for infrastructure that lasts.
Public Engagement: The Social Licence to Decarbonise
Infrastructure doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Its success depends not only on technical performance, but on public legitimacy. Without early and meaningful engagement, even well-intentioned sustainable infrastructure can face resistance, delay, or outright rejection.
Ireland has already seen this dynamic play out—over wind farms, urban densification and EV charging infrastructure. Communities often feel infrastructure is imposed rather than co-created, fuelling mistrust and opposition.
To shift this dynamic, a more participatory model is needed. Proven tools include:
- Citizens’ assemblies and deliberative forums (as used in Ireland’s Climate Assembly)
- Local co-design processes that incorporate lived experience
- Transparent communication on costs, benefits, and trade-offs
Decarbonisation is not just a technical transition. It is a social and cultural one. Building infrastructure with communities, not just for them, is critical to securing the social licence needed for a just and accelerated transition.
“Sustainability can no longer be an afterthought. It must shape every decision, from early-stage design through to delivery and operation. A coordinated, systems-thinking approach is essential—linking transport, energy, digital and natural infrastructure. That’s how we create infrastructure that supports both decarbonisation and long-term economic growth.”
Ireland’s challenge is not a lack of ambition—it’s a lack of coherence. Fragmented governance, siloed funding and disjointed regulations have long diluted the impact of climate-aligned investment.
But this is beginning to change. The policy narrative is shifting from isolated assets to integrated systems. Early-stage collaboration, open data sharing and climate risk disclosure are gradually moving from innovation to expectation.
Embedding sustainability meaningfully means asking systemic questions:
- Should energy-intensive infrastructure like data centres be co-located with renewables?
- Should all major projects undergo climate risk stress testing as standard?
- How do we align capital investment, land use, and carbon targets within a unified spatial strategy?
These are no longer optional considerations—they are prerequisites for resilient, adaptive infrastructure in a warming world.
Case Study: Bristol City Leap – A Blueprint for Joined-Up Delivery
Fragmented governance can slow progress, but the Bristol City Leap programme demonstrates the power of coordinated, city-scale delivery.
Bristol City Council and Ameresco have created a joint venture to channel nearly £500 million into low-carbon energy infrastructure over the next five years. Investments span solar, wind, heat networks, heat pumps and large-scale retrofit programmes, alongside EV charging and localised renewables. The initiative is designed not only to meet Bristol’s ambitious target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, but also to generate considerable social value—estimated at £61.5 million, creating over 1,000 local jobs, supporting £55 million of local supply-chain contracts, and delivering a £1.5 million Community Energy Fund for grassroots energy projects, alongside £4 million in energy-efficiency measures for vulnerable households.[17]
G&T has been embedded in the joint venture to provide Project Management Office, Project Controls, Quantity Surveying and Project Management advisory support across the entire portfolio, identifying performance trends and leading a team of specialist resources to provide tailored support to ensure project trajectories are corrected for optimised delivery. This encompasses the full project lifecycle from inception and business case through to commissioning and ongoing maintenance.
Coherence between governance, finance, and delivery capacity can accelerate decarbonisation while securing local economic and social gains. Bristol City Leap illustrates how systemic approaches can overcome fragmentation—a challenge Ireland must resolve if its climate and sustainability ambitions are to be realised.
Conclusion: Towards a Resilient, Low-Carbon Ireland
As Ireland ramps up infrastructure investment to meet climate and development goals, sustainability must be viewed not as a constraint, but as a lens for innovation, resilience and long-term value.
Whether through grid modernisation, circular construction or digital optimisation, the technologies and strategies required already exist. What’s needed now is the institutional clarity, delivery capability and political resolve to embed them at scale.
Despite record tax receipts in recent years, critics argue that Ireland has failed to convert its fiscal windfalls into climate-aligned infrastructure gains. The IMF points to persistent deficits in transport, energy, water and health infrastructure—sectors that are foundational to both decarbonisation and resilience. Yet delivery continues to be hampered by fragmented governance, siloed policymaking and blurred priorities. As one senior official put it, “when everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.”[18] Meanwhile, low productivity in the construction sector and Ireland’s recent slide in global competitiveness rankings highlight a deeper structural challenge: unlocking the capacity to deliver high-quality, low-carbon infrastructure at pace.
At G&T, we continue to support clients in integrating sustainability at every stage—through carbon assessment, programme advisory and strategic delivery support. The road to low-carbon, resilient future is complex, but with a coherent approach, infrastructure becomes a catalyst not only for decarbonisation, but for community wellbeing, ecosystem regeneration and inclusive economic growth.
The final—and perhaps greatest—challenge is cultural: to shift from viewing sustainability as an external compliance requirement to embracing it as a core design value. This transition won’t be easy. But if achieved, it will leave a legacy not just of infrastructure delivered—but of a future safeguarded.
References
[1] https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-climate-energy-and-the-environment/publications/climate-action-plan-2024/
[2] https://www.ntma.ie/business-areas/future-ireland-funds/infrastructure-climate-and-nature-fund/infrastructure-climate-and-nature-fund-faqs
[3] https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2025/07/29/increase-in-high-court-challenges-a-key-barrier-to-timely-completion-of-infrastructure-report/#:~:text=A%20higher%20number%20of%20High,tactic%20to%20obstruct%20and%20delay.
[4] https://www.dartplus.ie/en-ie/projects/dart-north
[5] https://www.seupb.eu/latest/news/peaceplus-investment-boost-cross-border-rail#:~:text=The%20EUR%20165%20million%20investment,benefits%20for%20the%20local%20communities.
[6] The Windsor Framework is a UK–EU agreement finalised in February 2023 that revises the original Northern Ireland Protocol—part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement. It helps maintain partial regulatory alignment between Northern Ireland and the EU, including Ireland. This makes it easier to plan and deliver cross-border infrastructure, particularly in sectors governed by EU standards (like energy, rail, digital infrastructure, and environmental protections). However, future UK divergence in areas like procurement, planning, or state aid could complicate long-term coherence.
[7] https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-public-expenditure-infrastructure-public-service-reform-and-digitalisation/publications/national-development-plan-2021-2030/
[8] https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-the-taoiseach/campaigns/shared-island/
[9] https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/articles/all-island-strategic-rail-review
[10] https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/publications/national-broadband-plan/
[11] https://www.energyireland.ie/digitalising-the-decarbonisation-of-irelands-energy-system/#:~:text=Decarbonisation%20means%20having%20distributed%20renewable,the%20resources%20at%20our%20disposal.
[12] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-cities/articles/10.3389/frsc.2024.1393798/full
[13] https://www.transportforireland.ie/news/minister-calleary-and-nta-launch-irelands-first-smart-demand-responsive-transport-pilot-in-achill/#:~:text=The%20pilot%2C%20which%20begins%20operation,rural%20communities%20access%20public%20transport.
[14] https://www.epa.ie/news-releases/news-releases-2025/major-new-epa-report-assesses-irelands-vulnerability-to-climate-change-impacts.php#:~:text=The%20National%20Climate%20Risk%20Assessment,coastal%20erosion%20and%20coastal%20flooding.
[15] https://esb.ie/media-centre-news/press-releases/article/2025/01/25/storm-%C3%A9owyn-update--esb-networks-restore-power-to-366-000-homes--farms-and-businesses--402-000-remain-without-electricity-supply
[16] https://www.tii.ie/en/technical-services/sustainability/
[17] https://www.bristolcityleap.co.uk/bristol-city-leap-wins-2024-award-of-distinction-for-public-private-collaboration-in-cities/
[18] https://www.ft.com/content/ccb02ecf-50e0-4b88-8573-9d0bde324b65
