Irish Department of Transport publishes renewable fuel policy

This article was written by James Duggan, Managing Partner of Irish law firm Flynn O’Driscoll.

The Irish Department of Transport has published the Renewable Transport Fuel Policy 2025 – 2027.

The policy aims to support the state’s Climate Action Plan targets and meeting EU requirements under the Renewable Energy Directive. It sets out 19 specific actions to be implemented between 2025 and 2027, with a focus on increasing the use of renewable fuels and reducing emissions across the transport sector.

Businesses operating in this industry can expect new legislation, as well as reviews of existing laws in line with the updated policy measures.

Primary focus of the policy

As with its 2023–2025 predecessor, the policy is implemented through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (the “RTFO”) under Part 5A of the National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007. The RTFO requires suppliers of road transport fuels to ensure that a target percentage of the fuel placed on the Irish market is produced from renewable sources.

The targets have been revised and will increase year-on-year to accelerate the transition to lower-carbon transport. While the policy supports the government’s broader focus on electric vehicles, it also addresses the current reliance on petrol and diesel in ground transport by promoting blending renewable fuel with existing fossil fuels to reduce emissions. Fuel providers will be required to increase the proportion of renewable content in line with the new targets.

Launching the policy, the Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien, said:

“While we continue to focus on embedding electrification, public transport and active travel measures, reducing our historic reliance on imported fossil fuel in transport and switching to alternative fuels and technologies will be essential to decarbonise transport. This renewed Policy will also provide more certainty to economic operators and stakeholders, who are key to the delivery of emission reduction targets in the transport sector.”

Certificates under the RTFO, administered by the National Oil Reserves Agency, are already being issued for renewable transport fuels placed on the market. The policy provides for the expansion of these certificates to incentivise the use and supply of certain renewable fuels.

Expanding the scope beyond road transport

While the primary focus of the policy is road transport fuelled by petrol and diesel, the policy also sets out a roadmap for extending its scope to the rail, maritime and aviation industries.

The policy sets out plans to require use of more advanced biofuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin by 2027. A key development in meeting this goal is in the establishment of the ‘Hydrogen in Transport End-Use Working Group’ this year, which will explore and advance the use of green hydrogen in Irish road, aviation and maritime transport.

The policy supports the Irish government’s wider ambition, as stated in the Climate Action Plan, to decarbonise transport and reduce the state’s reliance on fossil fuels.

This article was written by James Duggan, Managing Partner of Irish law firm Flynn O’Driscoll.