CBI NI & Ibec launch All-Island energy policy report

• CBI Northern Ireland and Ibec call for an All-Island approach to energy security and climate challenges.
• New report highlights lack of coordination as significant barrier to energy and climate progress.

CBI Northern Ireland and Ibec, the group representing Irish businesses, have jointly launched an All-Island energy policy report.

This report calls on policymakers across the island and the UK to develop and pursue a more coordinated and ambitious effort to transition to net zero. According to the report, this transition should be underpinned by a new phase in energy collaboration and investment in shared infrastructure, including a recommitment to the Single Electricity Market.

The report highlights that the shift to net-zero offers a significant chance to enhance competitiveness, boost energy resilience, make energy more affordable, and generate sustainable jobs. However, challenges such as regulatory uncertainty, planning delays, skills shortages, supply chain constraints, and emerging energy security risks are impeding progress toward climate goals.

Fergal O'Brien, Executive Director of Lobbying and Influence at Ibec, said:

“The restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive, along with the subsequent recommencement of North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) meetings, presents a real opportunity to begin a new phase of All-Ireland cooperation.

“While both the UK and Ireland have set world-leading climate and renewable targets, targeting net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the importance of an All-Island approach is a critical component.

“The energy demands, emissions drivers, and barriers to decarbonisation are broadly shared across the two islands, and policymakers face the same difficulties with infrastructure delivery, energy affordability, public buy-in, skills shortages, carbon leakage, and technology readiness.

“An uncoordinated and disjointed approach could see policymakers working against each other, resulting in unnecessary duplication of effort and investment, increased costs, mixed signals for consumers and investors, and missed opportunities for emission reduction.”

Angela McGowan, Director, CBI Northern Ireland, said:

“Policy uncertainty has to date been a defining feature of the NI energy sector.  With a new Executive in post, businesses now look forward to a period of energy policy predictability and strategic collaboration.

“Northern Ireland’s continued participation in the Single Electricity Market which has delivered proven benefits for consumers across the island is critical, but collaboration must now go beyond this. With a relatively small market, it will be in Northern Ireland’s economic interest to broaden that energy collaboration with both RoI and Great Britain.

“The business community recognises the immense opportunities from increase investment, energy security and job creation. However, these can only be realised through collaboration, both North-South and East-West, to ensure that regulatory divergence does not hinder progress.”

Key Recommendations include:

• Embrace new opportunities for All-island collaboration and policy alignment on energy and climate action.
• Provide greater regulatory and policy certainty for investors in the green transition.
• Safeguard the Single Electricity Market (SEM) and strengthen electricity infrastructure.
• Support the decarbonisation and resilience of the All-Island gas network
• Cooperate to address skills gaps, supply chain constraints, and shared transition challenges.
• Undertake an Energy Futures 2040 scoping exercise.