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recession - passivehouseplus.co.uk

Reaching for the first rung

Why is it so difficult to get on the property ladder now compared to 20 years ago? After all, interest rates are lower and house prices are still below where they were in 2007. Architect Mel Reynolds runs through the figures.

Better Building conference hears commercial property warning

Last week's Better Building conference in Dublin heard from experts speaker on the present and future of the construction industry in Ireland. Topics at this year’s conference pushed the building industry to think beyond energy efficiency and consider full life cycle costs of materials, transportation issues, and living buildings.

Bord Gáis calls it quits on home insulation business

Bord Gáis has ceased offering home insulation products and boiler installations through its Home Team division due to a drop off in demand. The company will continue to offer boiler servicing and repair.

The move reflects the recent nationwide decline in home energy upgrades, a trend that is investigated in the new issue of Construct Ireland.

Cuts to insulation grants will cost jobs, warns Construct Ireland

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The government's cuts to its Better Energy grants will cost jobs and make it extremely difficult for Ireland to meet its retrofit and energy reduction targets, green building magazine Construct Ireland has warned.

Following the budget, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland reduced grants for cavity wall insulation from €320 to €350. Grants for internal and external wall insulation were also reduced — previously these were €2,000 and and €4,000 respectively, but now separate rates have been introduced for different house types, with the maximum being €1,800 for internal insulation and €3,600 for external.

Fuel poverty conference to hit Dublin on Feb 7-8

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The pioneering energy charity Energy Action is set to hold a two-day fuel poverty conference in Dublin Castle on 7-8 February.

“The introduction of the carbon tax on fuel costs in 2010 has further exacerbated the health and monetary problems for the fuel poor,” said Energy Action general manager Charles Roarty. “Due to low income and possibly debt these households will not have the funds needed to pay for retrofitting measures, even allowing for SEAI’s Home Energy Saving scheme grants.”

Renewable energy in Ireland grew 15% in last 4 years

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Renewable energy in Ireland grew by an average of 15% per annum from 2005 to 2009 driven largely by a significant growth in wind energy of 28% per annum in that period, according to SEAI's latest Energy in Ireland report. Last year also witnessed a steady trend towards lower energy prices in Ireland for both domestic and business energy users.

On the money

On the money
Every eurozone government has debt problems and is cutting its spending, Richard Douthwaite says. Defaults and a prolonged depression are inevitable unless countries inject money into their economies in an unconventional way. A prosperous low-carbon economy would be the result

Local custom

Local custom
With money leaving local economies across Ireland to service debt and significant drops in local authority revenues, towns such as Dundalk, Ennis and Kilkenny are investigating the possibility of bringing in electronic currencies to keep money circulating locally, as Richard Douthwaite reveals.

Greenov

Greenov
Why the Greenov project may be the key to success for Irish SMEs in energy upgrade market

Default setting

Why Ireland may default on debts, & what to do next
Why Ireland may default on debts, & what to do next

Irish business leaders back green procurement

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A new coalition of Irish business leaders has issued an open letter urging the government to leverage the State’s €17bn annual procurement spend to develop the green economy.

The CEOs and managing directors of companies including Siemens Ireland, Airtricity, Ecocem, Glen Dimplex and Bord Gais have signed up to Green for Growth, a coalition calling for the state to commit to buying greener goods and services to keep Ireland competitive domestically and internationally.

Green business leaders to sign open letter to government

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Green for Growth, a coalition of leading Irish businesses set up to demand strong government leadership on green procurement, will be launched tomorrow, Friday 14 May 2010 in The Annesley Suite, Alexander Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2 at 12pm. The coalition has been organised by Construct Ireland magazine.

Methane & climate change

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With the threats posed by anthropogenic climate change now accepted as a key international issue, efforts to curb carbon dioxide emissions are becoming manifest around the world in spite of – and even as a response to – the global recession. But any such efforts may be in vain if the focus on carbon dioxide distracts from the need to curtail methane emissions, as Richard Douthwaite explains

Increase in energy use in Irish buildings despite recession

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Rising energy use in buildings contributed to an increase of 1.5% in overall energy demand in 2008, despite the economy contracting by 3% over the same period, a new report from Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) reveals today.

Gormley launches government architecture policy

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Environment minister John Gormley yesterday published the government's policy on architecture for 2009 to 2015, titled Towards a Sustainable Future: Delivering Quality Within the Built Environment. 

Steep decline

Brian Cowen
The worl­d has learned the hard way that our political leaders lacked the judgement and resolve to identify and address the problems which led to the recession. Richard Douthwaite argues that a similarly flawed judgement is evident in the assumption that the economy will recover, and advises on how to prepare for a future of global economic contraction.

Sustainable economics conference, June 10 to 12

wind_turbine_holderness.jpgFeasta - the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability - will host a weekend conference titled 'The New Emergency: Managing Risk and Building Resilience in a Resource Constrained World' on the weekend of June 10 - 12 in All Hallows College, Dublin.

Solvent green

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The market for new residential build may have bottomed out, but compared to the rest of the construction industry the sustainable building sector appears buoyant. Changing market conditions, various government incentives and updated building regulations are all helping greener building companies - but with few houses likely to be built this year and capital restricted, challenges still lie ahead. Lenny Antonelli reports

ESB green stimulus to create thousands of energy jobs

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ESB yesterday announced a series of initiatives to create up to 6,000 new jobs and training opportunities. Up to 3,700 new jobs will be created outside the company in Ireland in sectors such as smart networks and smart metering, wind energy, electric vehicles, home insulation and new sustainable technologies.

EPA calls for low carbon economic recovery

mary_kelly.jpgECONOMIC RECOVERY when it comes must involve Ireland developing a low-carbon “smart, green economy”, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said yesterday. 

Making homes energy efficient could create 7,000 jobs

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MEETING MODERN energy-efficiency standards in Irish homes could generate €600 million a year and create 7,000 sustainable jobs, according to new research from DKM Economic Consultants.

Bubble Rap

RICHARD DOUTHWAITE proposes measures including energy upgrade of the housing stock  which could help to avoid economic meltdown, and JAY STUART outlines some energy saving measures which could be rolled out.
RICHARD DOUTHWAITE proposes measures including energy upgrade of the housing stock  which could help to avoid economic meltdown, and JAY STUART outlines some energy saving measures which could be rolled out.

From recession to renewables

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The notion that curbing CO2 emissions would damage economic growth has been used as an excuse from developed countries such as the USA not to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy. However, as Richard Douthwaite reveals, the people of Austrian town Güssing are discovering firsthand that this couldn’t be further from the truth.

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