A powerful think tank has told the Irish government that urgent action is required to address household emissions and reduce exposure to fossil fuel price volatility.

The call came as the Climate Change Advisory Council published the Built Environment chapter of its Annual Review 2026.

It said increased investment and faster rollout is needed in retrofitting, heat pumps, solar PV and district heating to reduce emissions, improve comfort and health outcomes and to protect citizens against volatile energy costs.

Although there has been a reduction in built environment emissions, the Council said these reductions should not be mistaken for structural progress. While residential and commercial/public buildings remained within their first sectoral emissions ceilings for 2021–2025, the outlook for the next carbon budget period is much more challenging. Both residential buildings and commercial and public buildings are projected to exceed their second sectoral emissions ceilings for 2026–2030 by 22% and 62% respectively.

The review warned that progress on local authority social housing retrofits remains too slow, with only 10,370 homes retrofitted since 2021. Approximately 5,000 retrofits are needed on average each year between now and 2030. The Council is calling for increased, sustained and ring-fenced multi-annual funding in Budget 2027 to allow local authorities to accelerate retrofit delivery and meet the Government’s own targets of 36,500 social houses brought to BER B2 or cost-optimal standard by 2030.

Alex White, chairperson of the Climate Change Advisory Council, said: “As long as Ireland remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels to heat homes and buildings, our households, businesses and public services will remain exposed to global price volatility and energy insecurity.

“The Government has set the right ambition to end Ireland’s reliance on fossil fuels. The test now is delivery. We have the solutions and we know there is an appetite for them, but they must be enabled through policy and legislation. These solutions must be funded to deliver lower-cost clean energy for Ireland.

“Our communities also need plans and solutions to prepare for the impacts of climate change, especially coastal areas and those that are at risk of flooding.

“This transition must be fair. Social housing retrofit is one of the clearest tests of delivery. The State owns this housing stock, the targets are clear, and the benefits for households are immediate. To meet the 2030 target, local authorities will need to retrofit around twice as many homes each year as were delivered in 2025.”

The review identified solar PV as one of the fastest routes to lower bills and widen participation in the energy transition. It recommended the roll out of solar PV across local authority housing stock and that a national framework should also be put in place for plug-in solar to allow apartment dwellers to benefit from solar energy.

On resilience, the Council said it wants to see a clear programme of work so the Built Environment and Planning sector can develop and implement a dedicated Sectoral Adaptation Plan in the next plan cycle. Ensuring our built environment is resilient to immediate and future climate change impacts, such as heatwaves and flooding, is paramount to securing the future of our communities. In addition, the Council also recommends that Government expedite the development of coastal change management plans in priority vulnerable areas.