Thomas Lyons 
The Irish government has launched a new fund worth €169 million to help communities most affected by the ending of commercial peat production to reimagine and transform their futures. The European Union Just Transition Fund (JTF) will support economic development in areas hardest hit by the ending of commercial peat extraction and peat-based energy production. The programme will help support green jobs, energy, and agriculture. Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, launched the programme at the Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre in Kenagh, Co Longford on Friday, April 28.
The key aims of the programme are to ensure that no one is left behind as Ireland navigates towards the net-zero vision set out in its Climate Action Plan. While fairness is at the centre of this fund, the green jobs, green energy, and green agriculture that it can support, we also have to ensure that the transition is quick. If it’s not fair, it won’t be quick. And if it’s not quick, it won’t be fair. The funding for the EU JTF has come from both the EU and the Irish government. Up to €84.5 million has been financed by the EU and matched by up to €84.5 million from the government.
The Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA) has been appointed as the managing authority of the new multi-million euro fund and has been working with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communication to develop the programme that will deliver the €169 million fund. This programme will focus on three strategic priorities for investment:
Generating employment by investing in the diversification of the local economy
Supporting the restoration and rehabilitation of degraded peatlands and regeneration and repurposing of industrial heritage assets
Providing smart and sustainable mobility options to enable local communities to benefit directly from the green transition.
According to Cathaoirleach of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly Cllr. Robert Power, the EU fund will be an essential tool for the wider Midlands area to realize its great potential. The EU Just Transition Fund is the lever that will help the regions most impacted by climate adaptation to action the generational change needed to become a sustainable, climate-neutral economy by 2050. The fund demonstrates how valuable EU funding is to the implementation of local and regional economic and spatial planning strategies that support an inclusive and sustainable transition for the benefit of local communities.
Sofia Alves, Director at the DG Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission, said: “The Just Transition Fund is a key driver of the European Green Deal, which pushes the green transition towards more inclusive and innovative accomplishments. We are moving away from peat and other fossil fuels in the Midlands because people once dependent on them deserve a reshaped future with new prospects. A total of 169 million euros will kick-start this process through local initiatives.”
The EU Just Transition Fund will support the restoration and rehabilitation of degraded peatlands and regeneration and repurposing of industrial heritage assets. It will also provide smart and sustainable mobility options to enable local communities to benefit directly from the green transition. The fund will be an essential tool for the wider Midlands area to realize its great potential. The EU Just Transition Fund is the lever that will help the regions most impacted by climate adaptation to action the generational change needed to become a sustainable, climate-neutral economy by 2050. The fund demonstrates how valuable EU funding is to the implementation of local and regional economic and spatial planning strategies that support an inclusive and sustainable transition for the benefit of local communities.
