EU Cohesion Policy: €169 million for a just climate transition in Ireland
An amount of €169 million will be invested in Ireland thanks to the approval of its Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP) with support from the Just Transition Fund (JTF). The Just Transition Fund Programme will support the wider Midlands area in delivering a green and fair transition away from peat production and electricity generation from peat.
The Fund will invest in economic diversification and job creation in green sectors such as sustainable tourism and the bioeconomy, in particular on around 500 local micro, small and medium-sized businesses.
Moreover, the JTF will focus on investments in research and development in the areas of green and circular economy. For example, a new ‘Centre of Excellence’, will be funded to conduct new pioneering research in reducing emissions from organic soils, working with farmers to test new ways of sustainable land management on peat soils.
The Fund will also support the development of sustainable and smart mobility in the region by contributing to the decarbonisation of local bus routes and bus operators’ fleets, as well as to the installation of fast charging points for electric vehicles.
The restoration and repurposing of 12,500 hectares of land to regenerate biodiversity and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from degraded land will also be the focus of the funding. Industrial heritage assets that will no longer be used for the extraction, transport and processing of peat will be repurposed into social and community areas, for example for cycling and walking paths.
The TJTP identifies the territory that will receive JTF support following a dialogue between the Commission and local partners in the framework of the negotiations of the 2021-2027 Partnership Agreements.
The Commission approved the Partnership Agreement with Ireland in September 2022.
The TJTP also allows for financing under InvestEU (a just transition scheme) and the Public Sector Loan Facility for Just Transition (a new tool combining Commission grants with European Investment Bank loans for transition regions).