 Thank you for your generosity chairman. I'm trying to see do I recognize anybody here, but let me see if we can Look at something of the experience in the retrofitting of the Irish building stock and maybe also even try Little dangerously perhaps to look to look ahead But firstly to to remind us of the authorities vision and mission We see Ireland as a recognized global leader in sustainable energy and Making the distinction as always a society that is fully engaged in the Sustainable energy agenda and an economy that is fully exploiting the the opportunities global opportunities in these solutions and then the authorities mission is to help in this process of of transformation a a society based on stable any structures technologies and practices and In executing that mission There are three priorities in our work and energy efficiency where our focus today Is is first implementing the strongest possible energy efficiency actions But in parallel with this Accelerating the development and adoption of low-carbon energy technologies to exploit our magnificent renewable energy resources and While doing all of this Developing the the enterprises bringing together the actors that are needed in order to bring this to pass Um It's it's probably for this audience to to put the case for efficiency There may be a degree of redundancy, but I think it's no harm to Recognize the extent of the of the challenge This is the wedge diagram for the international energy agency the world energy outlook Where we're here looking at the emissions and it has somehow become Somehow less fashionable to refer to the climate imperative, but I think we do need to remind ourselves that the emissions Unlike a lot of these Y-axis this does start at zero and we're looking at kind of current emissions and the business as usual projection and Then what's involved in turning that down to levels that may be compatible with the continuation of our civilizations So the time scale here is over 40 40 years and these actions There's an a menu of strategies and what's I suppose important for us today Is that more than half of these are in the efficiency area and then you have? Others of the technologies Available This is a diagram which my my colleagues give out to me for showing because they feel it's a little indulgence of me Sanky diagram, but it is a very powerful summary of the whole of our Irish Whole of our energy economy because what we what we see here is on the left-hand side the inputs and On the outside on the right-hand side the the outputs and it's it serves to remind us How heavily dependent we still are on oil and gas and that situation is going to isn't going to try change radically in The short to medium term on the right-hand side, of course we see the functions Which this energy is used and we also see the the waste the waste streams and the size of the transport factor is Is a is a reminder to us that we're not dealing with the full agenda today? Tiny little thing up there in the top right-hand side You have contrasting Over the last 20 years the level of EU dependency on imported Energy and the Irish one where of course we're hovering a little below 90% dependent on imported energy So we have a challenge the minister has touched on the The the the gap that a better energy is now addressing in our targets for 2020 you're familiar with the 2020 Commitments on greenhouse gas emissions on energy Conservation and on renewables, but on the central one the energy efficiency the gap that remains to be addressed and as the minister said the Programs now designed to meet or indeed slightly exceed that gap Another analysis which many of you will have seen before is the one which we carried out a couple of years ago with the McKinsey consultants and this marginal cost Batement of carbon emissions on the y-axis We have the abatement cost per ton of CO2 equivalent and on this we have the the impact the abatement potential and While this is not Intended to describe a rank order of measures because while we of course Need to look at efficiency measures, but in in parallel We also need to look at the measures that are going to make the big impact in meeting the demands over the over the longer term this does highlight of course that the the Retrofit activities are all concentrated in this area of negative societal cost and Bear in mind that this Curve this particular one is based on a fuel cost of 60 US dollars per barrel So what current fuel prices a lot more is down below that line? So all of that is in a way reminders The benefits of energy efficiency are are legion The minister has highlighted many of them the The idea for instance one of the ones which are perhaps not always adequately factored into our Investment decisions the reduced energy infrastructure costs We have mechanisms for looking at investment in In utility growth for instance in building new power plants and so on but the kind of investment that the Minister and the government is making now in efficiency is also delivering Major benefit and that's not often seen as I suppose an infrastructural investment The better energy program the Ambition of a million building upgrades across all of the sectors offer really huge Benefits to Ireland and to the occupiers of those buildings in other words the citizens The the aims of the program And the way I put this first one is that it's not so much the the buildings that we need to focus on but it is the The people who use those buildings and enabling them to be more energy efficient Recognizing that some of the technical improvements that we will that will be delivered will deliver benefits Which are not only an energy that we will hear about a rebound factor so that some of the Benefits are taken in improved comfort which will also we see health benefits and so on as a major issue of protecting the energy poor and reducing the this anomaly where in the past the tendency was to provide support to the those Facing challenges of energy afford affordability which enabled Them to buy the most expensive fuel and to burn it with the least efficiency These programs are designed to Address that that anomaly The employment one is something which we will Be hearing about the energy security environmental performance, of course but today is particularly about things like the Supply chain skills the business models so in other words in building market-based programs, which Also compared with the programs that we described last year We have a much clearer. I think a single brand bringing a plethora of individual programs which might have made great sense to to us, but maybe didn't make as much sense to those at whom the programs were targeted and We recognizing that we're going to hear a lot today about new ways of financing finance activity but Let us for a moment just pause to think of the Requirements that we're putting on those who are to carry out this work because really we're looking to a new industry to emerge The construction industry has gone through a pretty traumatic experience and maybe there's Some degree you know a lack of sympathy and associate almost associating construction the construction industry with the problems that we face and We need an efficient construction industry and if an industry that can deliver on the targets that we're Describing We need construction also as an engine for economic growth and that industry needs to have the capacity to develop the necessary skills to invest in innovation and R&D and to come up with new business models so that Minister quoting John Fitzgerald the hassle factor is a thing of the past the idea that people are struck with terror at the prospect of builders Arriving in their homes We the industry needs to to rethink its model So that recognizing that working in someone's a living room is a very different situation from working on a green field site some of the achievements today bringing bringing together the the predecessor programs and problems of the last of last couple of years you can see that the numbers are Really a very substantial and the benefits are several and reminding that People employed of course are also Contributing to to the economy We published late last year a road map 2050 series of road maps and there are three more shortly to be published but one on residential energy efficiency Looked at paths. It's these are not plans But they're scenarios different ways of getting to the kinds of of targets which there is international consensus are required decarbonizing the energy systems around the globe the these diagrams which are More easily seen on our on our website map different pathways to Taking down the average Dwelling energy intensity beyond the 2020 objectives right down to to very low levels and these are average figure over the whole building stock the old whole residential building stock and Not just a not the just the new build of course Some of the challenges faced in in the program in better energy homes There the the kind of level that is being Achieved not just in the Irish programs, but other retrofit programs internationally is probably only Of the order of about half of what the optimal level of improvement would be would be indicated and This brings one of the the big challenges that we're addressing today and we'll hear I think some of the international experience from the international energy agency as well as from Britain and from Germany a Comprehensive whole building approach being being needed and the the models would would indicate that About a 5% of the stock being Improved annually now I put a quote there From an American source saying that and this was a global a recent global survey saying no Jurisdiction is currently reaching even 2% per annum. That's not true. This country is is close to twice that figure and perhaps it's for that reason that in 10 days time I think The Alliance for saving energy in Washington DC will award Ireland It's international award for retrofit activity because I think the Irish the retrofit programs have Attracting international interest In on the non-domestic side in better energy workplaces Again significant investment is being is being made there and significant Savings are being achieved and the minister mentioned the figure the grant support of 11 and a half million this year This this will Leverage an investment of a 50 about 50 million euro In this kind of work and I just take a couple of examples from recent recent years There's an example there in Eli Lilly and and can sale taking an energy efficient design project Realizing 600,000 Euro in annual energy savings and the payback on that investment in two years and the Green Isle Green Isle Foods Example is a heat recovery project in refrigeration Generating Recovering the heat from the fridge fridge processes now providing all the hot water requirements for for cleaning and Reducing the gas requirement by over 80 percent the scale of savings to be achieved in the The industrial and business sector is really Extraordinary and There is I suppose a degree of frustration that Let's say at the experience minister pointed to the savings 10% savings in year one with our experience in going say to 2,000 small small businesses and people don't seem to have the time to to implement these kind of these kind of savings the the experience of the large in industry energy network forces is is a is a great one And that's again one which has attracted international interest Very substantial savings at the cumulative Savings we're seeing the and companies that have been engaged in this now in this operation for Close to 15 years are achieving about 40 percent Savings year-on-year ratcheting further savings on on really excellent performance earning Ireland a reputation as a place for leadership in this area and Generating business We when you were with us minister we Mentioned the case of the PM group winning two very substantial contracts recently Overseas for bringing this the expertise learned here elsewhere Now the the challenge And the kind of responses I think the really interesting Developments we're going to hear about some of these today as as the market gears up for these these opportunities And to address the challenge that the pro-farm government places before this whole area With the engagement now of the energy utilities with the emergence of of a business involved in drawing together energy savings and starting to Look at the opportunities for for trading these and in energy energy markets As we see new businesses emerge new escows We're very keen to see an increase in escrow activity and the commercial involvement of that area Horizontal diversification in the way companies take on new kinds of roles or transfer transform themselves from say building contractors into A new kind of integrated deliver service deliveries and some of the most exciting things and maybe here in Crow Park it's Appropriate to refer to the 10k initiative there's 10,000 jobs GA initiatives working through GA clubs and a number of pilots now underway Building on the the enthusiasm and commitment that communities can bring to changing the current situations So a lot of our of the work that we'd be hearing about is moving from the current situations of grants and self-financing and perhaps a degree of fragmented delivery to Situation where with the new financing offer options we're talking about With the market in the driving place in this and a much more integrated delivery that issue of delivery in order to deliver on the Really ambitious very Mascale challenge and also to tackle the deeper the more ambitious retrofit we see lots of Developments being required and of course the current phase Very very important one in putting the the codes and standards and building the competence in an industry So they can take on a take on this challenge the quality issue. Of course. It is central the technical standards The these targets are ambitious they they must prove successful The customer experience has to be a positive one now surveys Towards the end of day would be hearing of some of the experience here, which is which is very positive, but I would Remind as an escaped academic Minister, maybe I'd be allowed to remind that there is also need for research in this area to underpin the these these developments The one-stop shops the kind of things that say be in queue is pioneering there in the west of Dublin the packaging of measures so the in the short term very attractive measures are coupled with the things which call for Longer payback periods and we're hearing a lot about the finance options. So I would conclude by Reiterating that this is an important activity. There is great opportunity for for fresh thinking for joining up the actions of industry and business of the various agencies and of government We've got to do it right There's an unfortunate experience in the building industry to a thing when there is sudden change There's building failure. That's why I keep emphasizing this matter of doing things properly doing things with competently and with proper standards and there is a lots more work because the dual challenge of building scale and Building depth Are very challenging, but the rewards will be great and Last year. I are previously certain. I've used this quote from the New York Times Next-grade industry will be energy technology But a second bite that may be particularly relevant today Quotation from Time magazine a recent issue. This may sound too good to be true. It's the US of course, maybe has a Learning curve on this one. The US has a renewable energy resource that is perfectly clean Remarkably cheap surprisingly abundant and immediately available. This miracle juice goes by the distinctly boring name of energy efficiency And the illustration below is a carbon positive industrialized dwelling from Japan a lifetime carbon positive. Thank you very much