In this week’s bulletin we bring you news that the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme is now available for registration, 200 businesses are taking part in a free trial of fully electrical commercial vehicles, new funding to address employment, economic, social and environmental impacts in the Midlands, the proposal for a Constitutional referendum to protect biodiversity, new circular economy measures, and the usual articles, podcast and event recommendations. Available now: Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme, which will assist eligible businesses with their electricity or natural gas (energy) costs during the winter months, is now open for registration. Under Revenue’s guidelines, businesses wishing to avail of the scheme must tick a box declaring that they have completed a carbon footprint exercise and are taking steps to reduce energy use and environmental impact. In our short Ask the Expert interview with Joe Borza, CEO and founder of Irish company Energy Elephant, you can discover how to measure your carbon footprint, reduce emissions and make better energy decisions. Read more from our colleagues in the Tax Team. 200 businesses to take part in trial of fully electrical commercial vehicles 200 businesses nationwide are to take part in a trial of fully electrical commercial vehicles (EV) to see how they can save their business money and emissions. Participating businesses will have the use of a free EV for three months, along with the option to install an EV charger. The Commercial Fleet Trial, launched this week by Department of Transport and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), will be co-ordinated by Zero Emissions Vehicles Ireland (Zevi), a one stop shop for information on grants, initiatives, and information to support the public, industry, and businesses in making the switch to zero emission vehicles. In a further announcement this week, Iarnród Éireann is to order 90 new battery-electric train carriages for delivery in 2026 to facilitate the expansion of the existing DART service. Funding to address employment, economic, social and environmental impacts EU funding of close to €169 million has been secured to support the Midlands region, it was announced this week. The funding aims to address the address employment, economic, social and environmental impacts that come with the transition from peat production and electricity generation from peat. It will target the generation of new green jobs, enterprise stimulus, an increase in sustainable tourism, restoration of damaged peatlands and alleviation of the economic impacts of the transition to climate neutrality. East Galway, Kildare, Laois, Longford, north Tipperary, Offaly, Roscommon and Westmeath will all benefit from the fund, which will come from the EU's Just Transition Fund. Constitutional referendum proposed to protect biodiversity A Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity Loss has voted to change Ireland’s Constitution with a view to protecting biodiversity. The proposed constitutional referendum would recognise nature as a holder of legal rights, comparable to companies or people. The Assembly on Diversity Loss, the first such assembly held anywhere in the world, took place across several months in 2022 and concluded on 27 November. The work of the Citizens Assembly will continue into January 2030 when there will be final votes on sectoral recommendations on biodiversity loss. (Find out more about biodiversity and business.) Ireland’s circular economy measures – funding and deposit return scheme Funding of €1.5 million was announced this week for Circuléire, the national platform for circular manufacturing. The funding aims to foster and enhance circular economy knowledge, capacity building and implementation by Irish industry, and will be available from 2023. The announcement comes amid news of the launch of a  Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), which aims to encourage people to recycle their drink containers by refunding them money when they return any returned plastic bottles or cans. All producers and retailers are legally obliged to register with Re-turn, which will operate the scheme, and registration is now open.  The scheme itself with go live in February 2024.  (Find out more about the circular economy) Support among young people for taxes on emitting-activities, ESRI research finds EPA-funded research of youth in Ireland aged 16-24 has found that young people judge environmental action to be urgent, that they are willing to change their lifestyles and that they want stronger pro-climate policies. Many support bans and taxes on activities that cause harmful emissions. The study, which focused on knowledge and beliefs about climate change mitigation (reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions) was conducted by the ESRI in March 2022 and is the first of its kind in Ireland. Resources Webinar: How can the accounting profession be an agent of change? (ICEAW Climate Summit – registration required) Podcast: The Director General of the EPA, Laura Burke, speaks to Daniel Murray (5 Degrees of Change) Articles Brian Keegan's article notes that the cash flow benefit of the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme far outweighs any terms and conditions. One particular item to watch for is that any monies received are not tax-free. (Irish Examiner). New ‘green VAT’ rates would raise more tax, reduce emissions, researchers claim (Irish Times) Get ready for a net zero business backlash (Irish Times) Australia’s banks likely to reduce lending to regions and sectors at risk of climate change impacts, regulator says (Guardian) Jobs Financial/Reporting Accountant for major energy provider in Ireland’s Energy/Sustainability/Renewables sector. Newly qualified ACAs can contact Dave Riordan, Careers Team, Chartered Accountants. Upcoming events Introduction to Sustainability Reporting....the basics Seán O'Reilly (NI CPD Blitz), 8 December A4S Summit, bringing together leaders in finance for discussion, insight and action to explore the trends shaping our world and the practical actions that can be taken to build a resilient, sustainable economy, 13-15 December Biodiversity COP15 Part 2, 7-19 December You can find information, guidance and supports to understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our online Sustainability Centre.

In this week’s Public Policy bulletin, we take a look at the latest economic assessments from both the Fiscal Advisory Council and Central Bank as well as the Government’s launch of the first ever National Hub Summit for remote working. In addition, we examine this week’s latest statistical releases from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency on 2021 business performance and levels of youth unemployment as well as a significant judgment from the Court of Justice of the EU on the validity of public beneficial ownership registers.  Fiscal Advisory Council publishes latest Fiscal Assessment Report  The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) this week published its latest Fiscal Assessment Report “A Budget in Time of Inflation” in which it assessed the Government’s Budget 2023 in terms of the broad fiscal stance, the economic and budgetary forecasts, and Ireland’s overall compliance with fiscal rules. Noting how Ireland’s economic growth had slowed considerably during 2022, the Council acknowledged that while Irish economic activity continues to expand in cash terms, inflation had weakened real incomes. With Budget 2023 now forecasting gross national income growth of just 0.4 percent in 2023, this marks a significant contraction from projected GNI growth of 5 percent this year, and actual growth 15 percent last year. Despite this however, IFAC’s report was broadly supportive of the Government’s budgetary strategy, observing how it struck the "appropriate balance between protecting vulnerable households and avoiding inflation". Central Bank increases capital buffer in response to global financial conditions In its second Financial Stability Review of 2022, the Central Bank this week announced an increase in the Countercyclical Capital Buffer (the level of reserves banks must keep) in response to the tightening of global financial conditions and what it sees as “increased downside risks given the size of the energy and inflation shock” in Ireland. Consistent with previous guidance, the Counter-Cyclical Capital Buffer rate will now increase to 1 percent marking a further step towards the gradual rebuilding of the buffer rate to 1.5 percent.   In addition, new rules for Irish property funds will also be introduced which will limit the amount of borrowed finance in these funds to 60 percent. Launch of National Hub Summit to promote and expand remote working in rural areas  Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphries TD, this week made a series of announcements in support of remote working as she launched the first ever National Hub Summit in Athlone.  The summit brought together businesses, hub managers, remote workers and and policy makers, less than 18 months after the launch of the Connected Hubs platform to further develop the Government’s expansion of its remote working initiative. The Connected Hubs online platform was originally launched by the Government in May 2021 to allow people to choose from a network of remote working hubs and hot desks around the country from which they could work. Speaking at the launch of the summit, Minister Humphries announced that a new pilot scheme that will match employers and employees to specific hubs will be launched in the New Year. The scheme will introduce the concept of ‘anchor tenants’ and the use of Connected Hubs as a ‘second workplace’ for staff. In addition, funding of up to €50,000 has been granted to all local authorities outside of Dublin so that they can market their towns and villages as destinations for people who want to move to rural Ireland. Moreover, the Minister signalled her intention to explore the idea of encouraging companies to provide a stipend to remote workers to cover the costs associated with using the Connected Hubs platform. More than 10,000 people will have registered with the Connected Hubs network by the end of the year. Northern Ireland Annual Business Inquiry Statistics 2021 released The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) this week released headline results from its 2021 Northern Ireland Annual Business Inquiry survey. Outlining how the economy experienced “higher than usual growth” year on year between 2020 and 2021, the NISRA noted how the major economic impact of Covid-19 restrictions during 2020 should be borne in mind when assessing the 2021 figures. Some of the key findings reported include: Total aGVA was estimated to be worth £30.6 billion at basic prices in 2021 - representing a rise of 19.4 percent (£5.0 billion) compared to 2020. Turnover for NI businesses increased by 13.6 percent between 2020 and 2021 to £77.1 billion, while the cost of purchases of goods, services and energy increased by 10.5 percent to £48.7 billion over the same period. The key driver of aGVA growth was in the NI Non-Financial Services sector which increased by £1.8 billion (17.9 percent) between 2020 and 2021.  The majority of aGVA growth in this sector is attributable to the Transport and Storage section which increased by £581 million (39.4 percent). Retail and Wholesale trade within the Distribution sector recorded aGVA growth of £868 million (14.4 percent) over the period in question. aGVA in the Production sector increased by £1.1 billion (15.5 percent) from 2020 to 2021. The key driver in this was the Manufacturing section, which recorded aGVA growth of £891 million (18.2 percent). There was also an increase in aGVA in the Construction sector of £1.2 billion (47.5 percent) between 2020 and 2021. Northern Ireland Labour Force Survey – Young People Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) In its latest batch of statistics derived from its quarterly Labour Force Survey, the NISRA estimates that there were approximately 17,000 young people aged 16 to 24 years in Northern Ireland who were not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the period July to September 2022. This was equivalent of 8.8 percent of all those aged 16 to 24 years in NI. According to the survey, the NEET rate among males aged 16 to 24 was 8.3percent and among females was 9.2 percent in July to September 2022 while the number who were NEET increased from the previous quarter by 2,000 and decreased by 7,000 over the year. In July to September 2022 there were an estimated 11,000 young people aged 16 to 24 years who were not in education, employment or training and who were not looking for work and/or not available to start work (economically inactive). The remainder of those who were not in education, employment or training were looking for work in the previous four weeks and available to start within the next two weeks (unemployed).  Court of Justice of the EU rules public beneficial ownership registers ‘invalid’ In a significant judgment issued this week, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) held that the provision of the anti-money-laundering directive whereby EU Member States must ensure that the information on the beneficial ownership of corporate and other legal entities incorporated within their territory is accessible in all cases to any member of the general public is invalid. According to the Court, the general public’s access to information on beneficial ownership constitutes a serious interference with the fundamental rights to respect for private life and to the protection of personal data as enshrined in Articles 7 and 8 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. On foot of the judgment, both Luxembourg and the Netherlands on Wednesday closed their public beneficial ownership registers. The CJEU this week issued a press release on the content of its judgment. 

  In this week’s bulletin we bring you a final round-up from COP27, news of measures to address windfall gains in Ireland’s energy sector, a consultation on electricity storage, ISIF’s announcement of a €50m initiative to promote female-led investment firms and the fastest growing global ‘green jobs’. Also included is news from Northern Ireland’s Environmental Benchmark Survey, the UK Transition Plan Taskforce publication of its Disclosure Framework and Implementation guidance, and the usual articles, podcast and event recommendations. A round-up from COP27 - ‘A down-payment on climate justice’ The two-week long international climate summit concluded in Egypt on Sunday 20 November, with a final agreement, the ‘Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan’ creating a loss and damage fund for countries vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Read a round-up of COP27 achievements here. Measures to address windfall gains in Ireland’s energy sector Measures are to be introduced to address windfall gains in the energy sector, it was announced this week. Through the implementation of Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854, the Irish Government is to place a cap on all market revenues of non-gas electricity generators, with excess revenues collected and used to support electricity consumers. Proceeds from the cap on market revenues are expected to be collected in 2023, with proceeds from the temporary solidarity contribution to be collected in 2023 and 2024. Consultation on electricity storage policy for Ireland The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has opened a consultation to gather the views of interested parties to inform the development of an electricity storage policy for Ireland. The consultation is part of a suite of measures being undertaken by the Government to support the delivery of Ireland’s renewable energy targets and Ireland’s security of supply. Closing date for submissions is 5.30pm on Friday, 27 January 2023, and full details can be found here. ISIF announces €50m initiative to promote female-led investment firms The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), which is managed and controlled by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), has announced its ambition to invest a minimum of €50 million over the next two years through private equity firms that are majority-owned by women. By establishing an ambition for investing in female-led investment opportunities, ISIF is seeking to demonstrate its commitment to addressing gender inequality and promoting greater diversity at senior levels – both within ISIF and in the companies and funds in which it invests. IFAC warns of need to properly cost climate change measures Ireland’s budgetary watchdog the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) has warned that the expected costs of climate change and other policy initiatives need to be properly costed and factored into long-term risks to public finance. The report, Fiscal Assessment Report, November 2022, which published this week, warns that reducing greenhouse gas emissions ­- urgently required to mitigate dangerous climate change - will potentially lead to sizeable costs which have not yet been determined. Irish Government’s funding programme for social inclusion, community energy, and social enterprise projects Minister for Community Development and Charities, Joe O’Brien, T.D., has announced over €44 million in 2013 for the Social Inclusion and Community Activity Programme (SICAP), which supports communities and individuals to engage with relevant stakeholders in identifying and addressing social exclusion and equality, developing the capacity of Local Community Groups and creating more sustainable communities.   Other funding announced included a new €10 million fund – the Community Support Fund – to support thousands of local community and voluntary groups with their energy bills, and up to €1.5 million in funding for 34 Social Enterprise projects nationwide under the Scaling Up Fund. Sustainability webinar from Chartered Accountants Ireland Ulster Society – 28 November   Chartered Accountants Ireland Ulster Society is holding a webinar on 28 November 12.30-2.00pm looking at 'The Sustainability Journey - Responsibilities, Strategy and Reporting'. The line-up of expert speakers include Keith Scott (NI Water), Derarca Dennis (EY), Shane O'Reilly (KPGM Sustainable Futures) and David Smith (Kilwaughter Minerals Ltd), who will address the issue of sustainability, how businesses are shaping a sustainability strategy, delivering operational change and meeting their reporting obligations. This webinar will provide a great overview of the challenge, and some first-hand case studies of businesses who are taking significant steps on the sustainability journey.    UK Transition Plan Taskforce publishes Disclosure Framework and Implementation guidance The UK’s Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) has published its Disclosure Framework and accompanying Implementation Guidance, launching a ‘Sandbox’ for companies and financial institutions to test implementation. Launched by  HM Treasury in April 2022, the TPT has a two-year mandate to develop the gold standard for private sector climate transition plans in the UK. It will inform and build on international disclosure standards. The UK Government and the Financial Conduct Authority are actively involved and will draw on the TPT’s outputs to strengthen disclosure requirements across the UK economy. The Disclosure Framework and Implementation Guidance are open for public consultation until 28 February 2023. IPCC factsheets released Temperatures will rise in all European areas, alongside the frequency and intensity of hot extremes, including marine heatwaves, it was reported in factsheets produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.  Other high-level key messages noted in the factsheet for Europe included sea-level rise in all European areas except the Baltic Sea, and an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme sea-level events, leading to more coastal flooding. There are factsheets for regions and for specific sectors, from agriculture to water resources management.   Compliance manager fastest growing ‘green job’ LinkedIn Economic Graph has published a new report into the skills needed for the world’s economies to address the threat of climate change. The Global Green Skills Report 2022 provides new data on green skills and jobs from all across the world. Among the fastest growing green jobs identified between 2016 and 2021 is ‘Sustainability Manager’, which saw an annual growth of 30 percent, and ‘Compliance Manager’ which grew by 19 percent. From our colleagues in Professional Accounting EFRAG submitted first set of draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) to the European Commission. Accountancy Europe published some FAQs on key changes that Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will bring. The UK Financial Conduct Authority announced the formation of a group to develop a Code of Conduct for ESG data and ratings providers. The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) in collaboration with EY published ‘ESG and the Role of Compliance’ on how compliance functions can support firms managing regulatory ESG-related risks.  Resources Podcast: The Director General of the Environmental Protection Agency, Laura Burke, speaks to Daniel Murray (5 Degrees of Change) Tool: Climate TRACE Coalition is new independent inventory of greenhouse gas emissions. Launched at COP27, Trace combines satellite data and AI to show the facility-level carbon and methane emissions of over 70,000 sites around the world, including companies in China, the United States and India. Article: SustainabilityWorks – Scaling the Solution  Upcoming events Webinar - Chartered Accountants Ireland Ulster Society - The Sustainability Journey - Responsibilities, Strategy and Reporting' (28 November)   Biodiversity COP15 Part 2, 7-19 December You can find information, guidance and supports to understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our online Sustainability Centre.