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Ireland’s Environment 2012
xii
Thematic Assessments
The current state of Ireland’s environment for six key
thematic areas is presented in Section II of the report.
The assessment is based on the latest evidence and
includes trends, policy developments and priority
challenges.
Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change
There have been substantial reductions in Ireland’s GHG
emissions in recent years, due in significant part to the
impact of the economic downturn. Ireland is on track to
meet its Kyoto Protocol commitment for the 2008–2012
period. This is a first step in achieving a longer term goal
of a low-carbon society and economy. The next key step
is to meet the emissions reductions required under the
EU 2008 Climate and Energy Package. The European
Commission Roadmap for moving to a competitive
low-carbon economy by 2050 points to EU-wide GHG
emission reduction requirements of up to 80% by 2050.
Within the EU, Ireland has an unusual emissions profile,
with emissions from agriculture being proportionally
higher than for most other Member States and projected
to increase in the period to 2020. Projections by the EPA
indicate that even in the best case scenario, Ireland will
breach its annual obligations for GHG emissions under
the EU 2020 target in 2017. Accordingly, further cost-
effective actions need to be identified, assessed, adopted
and implemented to reduce GHG emissions in the near
term.
The impacts of climate change are already occurring in
Ireland and are projected to intensify over the coming
decades; this must be factored into future planning and
investment choices. The vulnerability of existing systems
and infrastructure should be assessed and a national
framework for climate change adaptation prepared.
Air Quality and Transboundary Air Emissions
Air quality in Ireland is of a high standard across the
country and is among the best in Europe, meeting all
EU air quality standards in 2010. This is due largely to
prevailing clean Atlantic air and a lack of large cities
and heavy industry. However, in Dublin and Cork levels
of nitrogen dioxide are close to the specified EU limit
values for air quality in traffic-impacted areas. Over the
past decade, levels of particulate matter have decreased
in cities and large urban areas, arising principally from
improvements in vehicle engine technology. This decrease
is not seen in smaller towns, where domestic solid fuel
emissions are more significant than traffic emissions.
Many towns do not benefit from the ban on smoky
coal, and often do not have access to cleaner fuel
alternatives such as natural gas. Ireland also faces
the challenge of meeting new air quality standards
for PM
2.5
concentrations by 2020; this will require an
integrated approach across a number of sectors including
industrial, transport and residential emissions
With regard to air emissions, the strategies implemented
to achieve compliance with the EU National Emissions
Ceilings Directive have successfully controlled emissions
of sulphur dioxide, ammonia and volatile organic
compounds. Emissions of all three are expected to remain
below the prescribed ceilings. However, levels of nitrogen
oxides are expected to remain above Ireland’s national
emission ceiling in the short term due to sustained
emissions from road transport.
For Ireland to comply with its international commitments
on air quality and air emissions, industrial emissions of
pollutants to air must continue to be rigorously controlled;
policies must be implemented to increase the use of
alternatives to the private car and improve efficiencies of
motorised transport. Government departments, national
agencies and local authorities must make air quality an
integral part of their traffic management and planning
processes. Households and businesses must use more
efficient methods to burn fuel and shift from solid fuel
to cleaner alternatives including gas.
Water
In comparison with other EU Member States, Ireland has
better than average water quality. The principal cause of
water pollution in Ireland is nutrient enrichment resulting
in the eutrophication of rivers, lakes and tidal waters from
agricultural run-off and discharges from municipal waste
water treatment plants.
While there is evidence of an overall improvement in
water quality, Ireland faces major challenges to achieve
water quality targets set for 2015, 2021 and 2027 as
required by the WFD. A recent key development has
been the publication of the River Basin Management
Plans, including the setting of objectives for waterbodies
and the selection of Programmes of Measures to meet
the objectives of the WFD. However, it is also clear the
current governance and administrative arrangements
for water management are not optimal or configured
to ensure the delivery of WFD objectives in an efficient
and effective manner. A review of water governance is
currently under way to deliver more effective integration
of roles and policies between the key government
departments, the EPA and the lead local authorities.