In this week’s Public Policy bulletin, read about the Irish Government’s introduction of the National Living Wage as well as the constitutional challenge upheld by the Supreme Court to the ratification of the EU-Canada Trade deal (CETA). We also take a look at the Fiscal Advisory Council’s assessment of the proposals of the Commission on Tax and Welfare as well as the latest Northern Ireland Labour Market Report and the European Commission’s Autumn 2022 Economic Forecast. Tánaiste announces introduction of National Living Wage Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar, this week announced the Government’s introduction of a national living wage for employees. The national living wage will be set at 60 percent of hourly median wages as recommended by the Low Pay Commission Report on the Living Wage.  Under the Government’s plans, the living wage will be introduced over a four-year period and will be in place by 2026, at which point it will replace the National Minimum Wage. The first step towards reaching a living wage will see the implementation of an 80c increase in the National Minimum Wage from 1 January 2023 to €11.30 per hour. This will be followed by gradual increases to the National Minimum Wage until it reaches 60 percent of hourly median earnings. By 2023, it is estimated that 60 percent of median earnings would equate to approximately €13.10 per hour. Supreme Court rules ratification of Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) between Ireland and Canada unconstitutional In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court last week ruled in favour of a constitutional challenge brought by Green Party TD Patrick Costello against the Government’s plans to ratify the EU–Canada Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA). In a majority ruling of 4–3, the court held that the Constitution of Ireland precludes the government and the Dáil from ratifying CETA as Irish law now stands. Originally agreed between Canada and the EU in 2016, the CETA is primarily a trade treaty designed to significantly reduce tariffs and increase trade between the two parties. Having provisionally come into force in 2017, all EU national parliaments are required to ratify the deal before it can take full effect. In its current form, CETA tribunal awards are “in substance converted almost automatically into judgments enforceable in this State”, depriving the High Court of its capacity to supervise such awards and ensure they comply with the Constitution and EU law, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan said. However, as Justice Hogan went on to note ““this fundamental constitutional objection would accordingly be cured” if certain amendments to the Arbitration Act are effected by the Oireachtas. Following the judgment, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to ratify CETA in full after allowing a period of time to reflect on the implications of the court’s decision.    Read a copy of the Supreme Court’s judgment here. Fiscal Advisory Council estimates additional €15 billion in Exchequer Revenues could be generated if Commission on Taxation proposals implemented Following the issue of the Report of The Commission on Taxation and Welfare in September, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has this month advised that, if implemented, the proposals of the Commission would raise an additional €15 billion in Exchequer revenues. In an Analytical Note assessing the potential impact of the Commission’s proposals, the Council’s “broad brush estimates suggest an increase in total revenues of around 5.3% of Gross National Income”. However, while the report of the Council notes that the Commission’s net revenue-raising proposals “offer one potential strategy” to address the challenges the State currently faces, the Council expressly “does not take a view on whether or not this is the right approach”. The report of the Commission set out a strategy for raising Exchequer revenues and contained 116 recommendations to this effect which are currently under consideration by the Government. Latest Northern Ireland Labour Market Report published This week, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) published its most recent Labour Market Report. According to the report, the number of employees receiving pay through HMRC PAYE in NI in October 2022 was 781,300, a 0.2 percent increase over the month and a 2.5 percent increase over the year. Earnings from the HMRC PAYE indicated that NI employees had a median monthly pay of £1,967 in October 2022, an increase of £10 (0.5 percent) over the month and an increase of £117 (6.3 percent) over the year. In addition, the report noted that October 2022 saw the second consecutive monthly increase in the claimant count. The seasonally adjusted number of people on the claimant count was 36,100 (3.8 percent of the workforce) – marking an increase of 1.4 percent from the previous month’s revised figure and still higher than the pre-pandemic count in March 2020 (by 21.1 percent). As also set out in the report, the Department for the Economy recorded 60 redundancies in October – bringing the annual total number of redundancies to 940, the lowest twelve-month total in the time series (since 2000). European Commission’s Autumn 2022 Forecast Ireland's GDP is expected to grow by 7.9 percent in 2022, then to moderate to 3.2 percent in 2023 and 3.1 percent in 2024 on the back of lower purchasing power and uncertainty weighing on investment, according to the European Commission’s Autumn 2022 Economic Forecast. Net exports, particularly of multinational corporations, are however expected to remain resilient and be the main driver of growth. Inflation is expected to peak at 8.3 percent in 2022 and to remain high at 6.0 percent in 2023 before eventually moderating to 2.8 percent by 2024. While the Forecast projects that most Member States will enter into recession during the last quarter of the year (due to the ongoing uncertain economic environment) momentum accrued in 2021 together with strong growth in the first half of this year are set to lift real GDP growth in 2022 as a whole to 3.3 percent in the EU (3.2 percent in the euro area) - well above the 2.7 percent originally projected in the Commission’s Summer Interim Forecast. While the Commission predicts inflation will continue to contract economic activity into the first quarter of 2023, growth is expected to return to Europe in spring. Digital Services Act: EU’s landmark rules for online platforms enter into force This week saw the launch of the EU’s new set of rules for a safer and more accountable online environment as provided for in the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA applies to all digital services that connect consumers to goods, services, or content including online marketplaces. One of the key purposes of the DSA is to increase protections for consumers transacting online. Under the provisions of the Act, all online intermediaries will have to comply with wide-ranging new transparency obligations to increase accountability and oversight with a special regime applying to platforms with more than 45 million users. However, smaller platforms and start-ups across the EU will benefit from a reduced set of reporting obligations and special exemptions from certain rules. Following the entry into force of the DSA this week, online platforms will have until 17 February 2023 to report the number of active end users on their websites to the Commission. Read the Commission’s press release here.                    

  In this week’s bulletin we bring you news of offshore wind auctions under the Renewable Energy Support Scheme, sustainability supports available for the tourism, community and voluntary sectors, and tax deductions for landlords for retrofitting. Also read about events at COP27, which draws to a close this weekend, and the usual news, resources and events.    COP27 Look back on the resources produced by Chartered Accountants Ireland on the two-week international climate summit which concludes today in Sharm El-Sheikh. COP27 which brought together countries from around the world to accelerate moves to tackle the climate crisis. Offshore wind auction under Renewable Electricity Support Scheme In what has been described as a seminal moment in the delivery of offshore wind in Ireland, the Irish Government has approved the Terms and Conditions of ORESS 1, the first auction for offshore wind under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme. The offshore auction is expected to provide a route to market for up to 2.5GW of offshore renewable energy to the Irish grid, enough to power 2.5 million Irish homes with electricity. Final auction results will be published by June 2023, and at least three offshore energy auctions are currently planned for this decade. Energy supports announced for community and voluntary sector Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, and Minister of State, Joe O’Brien TD, have launched a new €10 million fund to provide once-off support to community and voluntary organisations which fall outside the parameters of other energy support schemes being delivered by Government (such as the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS)).  The scheme will open for applications on Monday 21 November and close on Friday 2 December 2022 with payments expected to commence before the end of this year and into early 2023. Full scheme details are now available here. Tourism businesses urged to engage with sustainability supports Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin, TD, has advised businesses in the tourism sector to engage with Government supports to make their businesses more sustainable. Speaking at Fáilte Ireland's first national conference on driving climate action in tourism businesses at Croke Park this week, Minister Martin referenced the sectoral emissions ceilings that have been fixed for each sector, including the tourism sector, and the supports available to businesses to help with decarbonisation projects. In addition to the €3 million additional funding in Budget 2023 to allow Fáilte Ireland to continue its work in the area of sustainability, the Minister also pointed to Fáilte Ireland’s new Climate Action Roadmap and the Government’s ClimateToolkit4Business. Landlords to get tax deduction for retrofitting The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD, has announced a new tax deduction for small-scale landlords who undertake retrofitting works while the tenant remains in situ. The measure will provide for a tax deduction of up to €10,000 per rented residential property against Case V rental income, for certain retrofitting expenses, for a maximum of two rental properties. Read more from our Tax Team. UK and EU sign joint declaration on energy The United Kingdom and the EU are among the signatories to a joint declaration from energy importers and exporters on reducing GHG from fossil fuels, joining the United States, Japan, Canada, Norway and Singapore.” In the pledge, the countries committed to support domestic and international action to achieve emissions reductions across the fossil energy value chain, such as adopting policies and measures to achieve rapid and sustained reductions in methane and CO2 emissions, supporting robust measurement, monitoring, reporting, verification, and mobilizing technical assistance and financing for methane and CO2 mitigation in the fossil energy sector. The  EU and Egypt have since taken the further step of establishing a strategic partnership on renewable hydrogen. Fit for 57? The European Commission’s Vice President Frans Timmermans has told delegates at COP27 that the European Union will be able to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 57 percent from 1990 levels by 2030,instead of the 55 percent originally planned. There is some criticism, however, that the increase in ambition does not represent a much-needed reduction in emissions, but is a reflection of the EU’s decision to count ‘carbon sinks’, which to date have not been factored into the carbon accounting. Reaching the target will reportedly require the implementation of new laws proposed ahead of COP27, including a 2035 ban on selling new fossil fuel cars. The Commission also recently proposed a new temporary emergency regulation to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy sources. From our Professional Accountancy Team The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has approved the final version of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) at its meeting on 15 November, subject to editorial changes. Read more here. Resources A new tool, the Doughnut Design Tool for Business has been created to help businesses engage with ‘Doughnut Economics’. This is an economic mindset underpinned by the concept of social and planetary boundaries. The tool, which helps businesses run facilitated workshops, is accompanied by a paper, What Doughnut Economics Means for Business. The paper contains background context and further detail on the core concepts as well as additional examples of business design. Articles Global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels hit a record high in 2022 (Carbon Brief) The UN Environment Program intends to launch a public database of global methane leaks detected by space satellites (Reuters) Fantasy football: what a carbon-neutral world cup might look like? (Bloomberg) The subtle danger climate change poses to ‘highly vulnerable’ Ireland (The Irish Times) ECB's Panetta says green transition may help cut inflation (Reuters) Counting the rising costs of climate (Reuters) Upcoming events Institute of Chartered Accountant England & Wales, ICAEW Climate Summit, 21-25 November 2022 (Virtual). With growing climate concerns an ever-present consideration for companies around the world, what can – and should – finance professionals be doing to support efforts towards net zero, sustainability and green finance? This week of virtual sessions will join experts and professionals from across sectors to engage on this biggest of issues. Reuters, Sustainability Reporting and Communications Europe,Nov 22-23 November 2022, London "Rethinking our economic models, focused on social & circular" - Kate Van Der Merwe, Chris Gordon, & Claire Downey - The Dublin City Centre Business Network Group’s November 2022 Breakfast Briefing is taking place on Friday, 25th November from 7:30am- 8.45am (one hour of CPD) in Chartered Accountants House, Pearse Street, Dublin 2. Contact membersservices@charteredaccountants.ie to book your place. Biodiversity COP15 Part 2, 7-19 December You can find information, guidance and supports to help members understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our onlineSustainability Centre.  

  In this week’s bulletin we bring you news of an Irish Government report into sustainable finance talent needed by the Irish financial services sector, published the same week as a UCC report finding Irish businesses 'underprepared' for net zero transition. Read about a proposal to oblige Ireland’s heat sector to include renewable heat; the establishment of a dedicated planning and environmental division of the High Court; an EU proposal for new temporary energy regulation for renewal energy sources; a report into the risks facing citizens and businesses from heatwaves in Europe; and an IFAC report highlighting the lack of comparability in corporate climate reporting. You can also find out how to measure your business carbon footprint, what is happening at COP27 and what events to watch out for. COP27 – “Together for implementation – just and ambitious" With the world’s international climate conference COP27 now well under way in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, Chartered Accountants Ireland will be closely monitoring progress until the conference closes on 18 November. For members who want to follow the proceedings and get insights into their applicability for the accounting profession, see our daily news round-ups on our website, and on LinkedIn and Twitter. You can find out more our COP27 webpage, which also includes our glossary of climate terminology "Climate Essentials for Accountants". All of this and more is available for free to download at the Chartered Accountants Ireland Sustainability Centre. Irish Government launches report on sustainable finance talent Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance, Seán Fleming TD, this week launched a report outlining the skills required by the domestic retail financial services sector to finance Ireland’s net zero transition. Released to coincide with COP27 Finance Day on 9 November, the Sustainable Banking and Finance Report identifies the skills gaps, education and training needs for Ireland’s retail financial services in the area of sustainable finance, and makes a number of key recommendations as to how to progress the sustainable finance agenda. Decarbonising Ireland’s heat sector It was announced last week that Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, will introduce an obligation on the heat sector to include renewable heat by 2024. Ireland’s renewable energy share in the heat sector last year was 6.8 percent, compared to the European Union average of 22 percent. A scoping exercise will be carried out to develop options for the proposed structure of the scheme, including an examination of proposed obligation rates, scalability, and costs to the consumer. Report finds Irish businesses 'underprepared' for net zero transition A new report by UCC’s Sustainable Futures Project has reportedly found that Irish businesses are ‘significantly underprepared’ when it comes to making the transformative changes required to transition to a net zero future. "The Sustainability Transformation: Assessing the Readiness of Irish Businesses", which included a national survey of 380 small and medium-sixed firms and larger enterprises across industry and service sectors, was commissioned by Microsoft Ireland. It found that businesses might underestimate the scale of ambition and action that are required to build a path to net zero emissions by 2050, with only 22 percent having committed to a net zero target. This is in spite of the Government’s aim to reduce emissions nationally by 51 percent by 2030 and to become carbon neutral by 2050. Role of finance function combatting climate change impact “Finance and accounting professionals need to move beyond simply measuring and reporting the impact of climate change, environmental regulation, supply chain pressure and rising energy costs. They must focus on understanding those implications and integrating them into financial management and business planning.” In this article by Sustainability: Finance at the heart of decision making, authors Nina Johansson and Henning Diederichs discuss the goal of climate reporting and the challenges facing finance professionals in collecting data from different professions (climate scientists, engineers, meteorologists, etc). Dedicated Planning and Environment division of High Court to be established It was announced this week that the establishment of a dedicated Planning and Environment division of the High Court has received Government approval. The new court, which was committed to in the Programme for Government will be established “as soon as possible” without the need for amending primary legislation. Commenting, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, TD, said that it is envisaged that the court will operate in a similar manner to the Commercial Court and will work in tandem with reforms to planning legislation, to bring about improvements in the ability to process cases and in costs, and to be consistent with Ireland’s obligations under EU environmental law. EU proposes new temporary emergency regulation for renewable energy sources The European Commission has proposed a new temporary emergency regulation to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy sources. The new Council Regulation will apply for one year while the Renewable Energy Directive (currently discussed by the co-legislators) is being adopted and transposed in all Member States. It will target specific technologies and types of projects which have the highest potential for quick deployment and the least impact on the environment. Probability increases of dengue and malaria in Europe With increasing heatwaves the spread of climate-sensitive infectious diseases like dengue and malaria represent a new emerging threat for Europe. A new report from European Environment Agency (EEA)’s Climate change as a threat to health and well-being in Europe: focus on heat and infectious diseases focuses on the impact high temperatures are having on the European population, especially as over a fifth of it is aged 65 and over. The report describes ‘heat-aware working conditions’, that employers could consider, listing examples on p.32 of the report, of specific plans developed by Member States for the protection of the working population from heat events. IFAC report highlights lack of comparability in corporate climate reporting A new report Getting to Zero: A Global Review of Corporate Disclosures based on 2020 corporate reporting has been released by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). It found inconsistency and incomparability in how corporates are reporting on how they are reducing their carbon emissions, which may pose challenges for investors, regulators, and other stakeholders who require actionable information. The report analyses disclosure trends in emissions reduction targets and transition plans of the 40 largest exchange-listed companies in 15 jurisdictions, for a total of 600 companies. Calculate your carbon footprint Revenue’s guidelines for eligible businesses wishing to avail of the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) state that they must tick a box declaring that they have completed a carbon footprint exercise and are taking steps to reduce its energy use and environmental impact. In this short ‘Ask the Expert’ interview on 10 November, Chartered Engineer Joe Borza gave simple steps to  calculate your carbon footprint using the free Government resources. Joe also shows how businesses can make better energy decisions and reduce their costs and emissions. You can watch the interview here.  Some useful resources Tangible progress on climate finance options lifts the mood at Cop27 (Irish Times) A new report from The Rockefeller Foundation and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) finds that the term climate finance is used loosely with varying definitions resulting in difficulties calculating finance flowing into climate areas. Despite this shortcoming the research was able to show that only about 16percent of the necessary climate finance to reach net-zero is being deployed The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recently released v0.3 of its beta framework for nature-related risk & opportunity management and disclosure - it is now open for feedback! (A4S on LinkedIn) Upcoming events SEAI SME Business Briefing webinar, 17 November, 10am. Learn how your business can save energy and money, and how you can fund your energy investments. COP27: 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as ‘COP27’, Sharm El Sheikh, 6 - 18 November 2022 Accountancy Europe, SMEs' sustainable transition: how to support it? 15 November, 10:00-11:30 CET   Institute of Chartered Accountant England & Wales, ICAEW Climate Summit, 21-25 November 2022 (Virtual). With growing climate concerns an ever-present consideration for companies around the world, what can – and should – finance professionals be doing to support efforts towards net zero, sustainability and green finance? This week of virtual sessions will join experts and professionals from across sectors to engage on this biggest of issues. Reuters, Sustainability Reporting and Communications Europe,Nov 22-23 November 2022, London   Biodiversity COP15 Part 2, 7-19 December  You can find information, guidance and supports to help members understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our onlineSustainability Centre.  

Originally posted on Business Post 22 October 2022.  Last week’s budget correction in the Finance Bill means that trades, manufacturing and services are now treated equally in terms of tax and supports, but landlords and tenants need more. Budgets are tricky things, as the British have recently discovered. They are not merely about balancing the national books. They are about ensuring there is a business environment which can fund national spending aspirations while providing decent levels of employment, wages and spending power. They are also about convincing investors that your country is a safe place to put their money. This is a critical consideration for Ireland, given that about half of our national debt is owned abroad. While there is a high element of drama around budget day, the publication of the Finance Bill last Thursday was a far more mundane affair. If budget speeches are poetry (at a stretch), finance bills are most definitely prose. A finance bill provides the detail of the Budget Day adventures, but also corrects its mishaps. Given that Budget 2023 had involved spending so much money to deal with the cost of living crisis, mishaps such as the concrete levy were inevitable. Far more important than correcting the concrete levy was the change to the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS). The scheme, announced on Budget Day, was for tax-compliant businesses that experienced a significant increase in their natural gas and electricity costs. The mishap here was that the announcement confined this support to businesses taxed under “Case I”. This Case I moniker is jargon which not even tax students remark on, as there is no difference between trades and services when calculating profits. It’s a relic inherited from the 19th century, yet it was the term which the Minister for Finance used in his budget speech to exclude professional services businesses from the TBESS. In practice, it would have meant that the high street convenience shop would get some help in paying for the electricity used by the soft drinks cooler, but the doctors’ surgery next door would get no help to pay for the electricity used by the vaccine refrigerator. Official Ireland has long been suspicious of the services industry when it comes to business supports and tax incentives. Schemes such as the Employment and Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS), whereby investors can get a tax deduction to buy into a business, are not available to services companies. Start-up services companies are not eligible for a corporation tax holiday, but trading and manufacturing companies are. Owner-managed trading and manufacturing companies are allowed to retain profits to reinvest, but profits retained by owner-managed services companies are subject to a corporation tax surcharge. More troubling, however, is the idea that services are in some way inferior to the more traditional trading and manufacturing activities. Such an idea does not make for good policy. The category of “professional, scientific & technical activities” accounts for over 10 per cent of all taxes collected, and 20 per cent of all self-employed income tax and universal social charge, according to recent figures from Revenue. That’s a big sector to overlook when it comes to providing state supports, yet that was the original premise of the budget statement. It has now been corrected in the Finance Bill. Perhaps the real surprise was that TBESS overlooked the services sector in the first place. An important policy aspect of the pandemic supports like the EWSS and the pandemic unemployment payment was that they were agnostic as to the nature and size of the business being helped, where it was located or its legal form. Companies, partnerships and the self-employed were all treated the same way. While ‘trickle-down’ economic policy is increasingly discredited by no less a person than the American president, a ‘rising tide’ economic policy which attempts to support all industries in equal measure seems to have something going for it. In this country it may help explain the remarkable fact that the nation does not have to borrow to provide the cost-of-living supports promised in the budget. If trades, manufacturing and services are now receiving equivalent policy treatment in the budget and Finance Bill mix, the missing piece is the private residential sector. There were modifications to the tax rules for landlords and tenants in the bill, but they don’t go far enough. A change to the way rental income is taxed to reflect all of the business circumstances of landlords and not just their rental business would help keep smaller investors in the market. A system of tax debt warehousing for builders – like the system in operation during the pandemic – to defer Vat and PAYE bills until houses are completed and sold would make a significant difference to the financing of property development at very little cost to the exchequer. Taken together, the budget and Finance Bill package demonstrates policy maturity and competence. Service business is being accommodated in tax and support policy which too often in the past was restricted to manufacturing, foreign direct investment and exporting activity. The next urgent step is to include the property sector. Dr Brian Keegan is Director of Public Policy at Chartered Accountants Ireland

  In this week’s sustainability/ESG bulletin, read about how businesses wishing to avail of the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) must tick a box declaring that they have completed a carbon footprint exercise and are taking steps to reduce energy use and environmental impact; our upcoming Ask the Expert interview on calculating your carbon footprint; a new round of funding under the Circular Economy Grant Scheme; how Northern Ireland businesses can add their voices to consultation on a proposed Energy “One Stop Shop”; and a proposal under the European Green Deal for rules for cleaner air and water, as well as the usual podcasts, articles and events. Did you know? The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) will assist eligible businesses with their electricity or natural gas (energy) costs during the winter months. Under Revenue’s guidelines, businesses wishing to avail of the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) must tick a box declaring that it has completed a carbon footprint exercise and is taking steps to reduce its energy use and environmental impact. Find out more here. Need help calculating your carbon footprint? It can be hard for businesses to know where to start when calculating carbon their footprint. In a short ‘Ask the Expert’ interview on 10 November, Joe Borza, CEO and founder of Irish company Energy Elephant will talk to Institute’s Sustainability Officer Susan Rossney about measuring your carbon footprint, how you can reduce emissions and how to make better energy decisions. Register free here. Circular Economy Grant Scheme opens for applications A call for applications has been announced for the 2022 funding round of the Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme (CEIGS). €650,000 is available to support innovation and circular economy projects by social enterprises, voluntary and community organisations, and businesses with fewer than 50 employees, while up to €100,000 is available for individual projects that demonstrate exceptional impact. Some €490,000 in CEIGS funding was awarded to 10 applicants under the 2021 funding round for the Scheme, which was established in April 2021 by Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, with responsibility for the Circular Economy and Communications, Ossian Smyth, TD.  Applications for this round are open until 16 December 2022. European Green Deal: European Commission proposes rules for cleaner air and water The European Commission has proposed stronger rules on ambient air, surface and groundwater pollutants, and treatment of urban wastewater. The proposed new rules will reduce by 75 percent in ten years the number of premature deaths in Europe which result from pollution (currently at 300,000 deaths). The proposals are a key advance for the European Green Deal’s zero pollution ambition of having an environment free of harmful pollution by 2050. They also respond to specific demands of the Conference on the Future of Europe. Northern Ireland businesses can add their voices to consultation on proposed Energy “One Stop Shop” Northern Ireland Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has announced the launch of a new public consultation on the development of an Energy “One Stop Shop”, which aims to be a single point of contact where businesses, as well as consumers and communities, can receive information, advice and support about energy issues. The consultation proposes that the One Stop Shop will begin by offering core services of information and advice and will continue to phase in additional services as specific policies and schemes are developed. The consultation closes at 5pm on 20 January 2023 and can be found on the DfE website. From our colleagues in Professional Accounting... The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) unanimously confirmed this week that companies will be required to use climate-related scenario analysis to inform resilience analysis.  They voted to confirm that companies are required to use climate-related scenario analysis to report on climate resilience and to identify climate-related risks and opportunities to support their disclosures.  The ISSB also agreed to provide application support to preparers including making use of materials developed by the Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to provide guidance to preparers on how to undertake scenario analysis. This decision responds to questions from stakeholders about what is meant by the term 'climate-related scenario analysis'. Please see here for further details. Resource ICAEW’s Corporate Finance Faculty in collaboration with Deloitte have published ESG in Deals and Investment, a new guide outlining best practice on incorporating ESG considerations into deal making, and looking into some of the practical considerations for those involved in transactions. It offers access to the latest thinking and best practice to help businesses, advisers and investors to form and refine relevant ESG considerations. Podcast FCA and member of the Institute’s Expert Working Group on Sustainability Laura Heuston from SustainabilityWorks spoke to Daniel Murray for the Business Post’s podcast 5 Degrees of Change about how sustainable finance can help drive change in the private sector and the impact of changing career. Articles Moral Victories: The benefits of sustainable investing: ‘We need to develop a common language around what sustainability is’ (Business Post) Temperatures in Europe have increased more than twice global average – report (Irish Times) ‘The number of people who think climate change still isn’t an issue is shocking’ – Michael D’Arcy (Business Post) Upcoming events Calculate your carbon footprint: ‘Ask the Expert’ interview with Energy Elephant, 10 November 2022, 12.00-12.25, Zoom. SEAI SME Business Briefing webinar, 17 November, 10am. Learn how your business can save energy and money, and how you can fund your energy investments. COP27: 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as ‘COP27’, Sharm El Sheikh, 6 - 18 November 2022 Accountancy Europe, SMEs' sustainable transition: how to support it? 15 November, 10:00-11:30 CET   Institute of Chartered Accountant England & Wales ICAEW Climate Summit, 21-25 November 2022 (Virtual)   Reuters, Sustainability Reporting and Communications Europe,Nov 22-23 November 2022, London   Biodiversity COP15 Part 2, 7-19 December  You can find information, guidance and supports to help members understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our onlineSustainability Centre.  

  In this week’s sustainability/ESG bulletin, read about new legislation on the redesigned Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme, improvements in air quality and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in Northern Ireland, a call to world leaders from more than 330 businesses to make nature assessment and disclosure mandatory, as well as articles and upcoming events. New legislation on redesigned Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme Ireland’s Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan T.D., has signed new legislation on the redesigned Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme (EEOS). This scheme places a legal requirement on larger energy companies to help energy users – including those in the commercial and public sectors – save energy.  The scheme, which has been redesigned in response to amendments to the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the Government’s climate priorities, will commence on 1st January 2023. Between 2014 and 2020 larger energy companies (‘obligated parties’) supported energy efficiency actions in more than 290,000 dwellings and over 3,000 businesses. These savings represent an offset in CO2 emissions of around 1.2 Mt and recurring financial savings of approximately €240 million per year. Bike to work scheme to include higher limit for cargo bikes A new higher limit for Cargo Bikes has been included in the revised Bike to Work Scheme in Ireland, a scheme which aims to encourage the public to cycle to and from work. The higher limit was announced recently as part of the Finance Bill and increases the limit of regular and electric-assist cargo bicycles to €3,000. The Bike to Work Scheme allows employees to give part of their salary for a bicycle and/or safety equipment, which should be used primarily for journeying to and from work. The purchase is not taxable benefit-in-kind and can be made in any shop. Air quality in Northern Ireland improves, while greenhouse gas emissions decrease The ‘Air Pollution in Northern Ireland 2021’ report has been published by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). The annual statistical report, which provides summary information on key air quality monitoring results, found that air quality in Northern Ireland has improved substantially in recent decades, with concentrations of sulphur dioxide – a pollutant associated with coal and oil combustion – declined significantly since the 1990. An overall decreasing trend in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations ws also observed. Government statistics estimate that air pollution in the UK reduces the life expectancy of every person by an average of 7-8 months, with an associated cost of up to £20 billion each year. In related news, a report into Northern Ireland carbon intensity indicators, also published recently, found that despite substantial growth since 1998 to 2022 in Northern Ireland’s Gross Value Added (GVA), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions actually declined by 65 percent in the same period. The report also shows that GHG emissions per capita decreased 36 percent from 17.2 tonnes CO2 equivalent per person in 1990 to 11.0 tonnes in 2020, despite the population increasing in the region by 19 percent over this period. Joint UK, Northern Ireland and Ireland investment for research announced The Irish and British governments have announced a joint €74 million (£64 million) investment to create new collaborative research centres across Ireland, Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The ‘Co Centres: Collaboration for Transformative Research and Innovation’ Programme, will open in November 2022 and will focus on two thematic areas: Climate, and Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems. The Co-Centres programme will bring together leading academic and industrial researchers, as well as policymakers across Ireland, Britain and Northern Ireland and will be managed by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Stormont's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). More than 330 businesses call to make nature assessment and disclosure mandatory More than 330 businesses and financial institutions with combined revenues of more than $1.5 trillion in 56 countries, have urged world leaders to make it mandatory for companies to assess and reveal their impact on nature by 2030. In an open letter to heads of state, business leaders said the business and financial status quo was “economically short-sighted and will destroy value over the long term” pushing for governments to agree to the disclosures at Cop15, the UN biodiversity conference being held in Montreal this December. From our colleagues in Professional Accounting The Chartered Accountants Ireland Technical Roundup this week notes that the ISSB announced it has made significant progress in refining the first two of its proposed sustainability standards (IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures.). At its recent meeting, the ISSB voted unanimously to require company disclosures on Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As part of these requirements, the ISSB will develop relief provisions to help companies apply the Scope 3 requirements. The FCA in the UK is proposing new rules to tackle greenwashing. It is proposing a package of new measures including investment product sustainability labels and restrictions on how terms like ‘ESG’, ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ can be used. The measures are among several potential new rules which will protect consumers and improve trust in sustainable investment products. You can read more on this here. Did you know… The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has a podcast? In the latest episode, ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber and Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd discuss key decisions made in the highlights from the third ISSB meeting, the background on the greenhouse gas emissions discussion, and overview of the ISSB's decisions on priority work, and more. Articles Financial Conduct Authority proposes restrictions on investment managers using terms such as ‘ESG’ and ‘green’ in fund marketing in a move to clamp down on greenwashing (Financial Times) Corporate Ireland talks about climate targets, but how do we assess their progress? Independent.ie No country is decarbonising fast enough, PwC study finds (The Irish Times) Upcoming events Webinar: Modern slavery – responsibility, detection and accountability, 2 November, 8.30-9.30 (ICAEW)   COP27: 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as ‘COP27’, Sharm El Sheikh, 6 - 18 November 2022   Accountancy Europe, SMEs' sustainable transition: how to support it? 15 November, 10:00-11:30 CET   Institute of Chartered Accountant England & Wales ICAEW Climate Summit, 21-25 November 2022 (Virtual)   Reuters, Sustainability Reporting and Communications Europe,Nov 22-23 November 2022, London   Biodiversity COP15 Part 2, 7-19 December  You can find information, guidance and supports to help members understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our online Sustainability Centre.