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Overview
The British Irish Council’s (BIC) eight member administrations have a collective ambition to achieve the green transition and decarbonisation. This will be crucial in the fight against climate change with the added benefit of opening up new economic opportunities in the green energy sector.
Lead Administration
The Energy Work Sector was established in 2009. It is chaired jointly by the Scottish and UK Governments. More recently, the work sector has been focussed on the decarbonisation of heat as well as new and emerging technologies.
Current Focus
In February 2022, at a Ministerial meeting hosted by the Government of Jersey, Ministers agreed a programme of work focussing on:
- Decarbonising Heat
- Offshore Renewables (including Wind, Marine, Grid and Interconnection)
- New and Emerging Technologies (including Hydrogen)
- Local and Community Energy
Since then, the work sector has explored several of these topics. Highlights include visits to Guernsey’s Power Station in September 2023 to learn about the challenges and opportunities of power generation and supply on the island; and in February 2024, the Northern Ireland Executive hosted a work sector visit to Belfast to see examples in hydrogen innovation in both the public and private sectors.