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Chapter 9: Environment and the Economy
Importance of the Environment
to the Economy
Introduction
Ireland’s economic and social wellbeing is intimately associated with the condition of the environment.
The economic resilience of Ireland is intimately linked to
environmental quality and to the supporting role of our
ecosystems and natural resource services. However, we
have designed and evolved our governance structures,
our society and our economy in ways that are not always
suitably considerate, or protective, of ourselves or of our
environment. Moreover, as individuals and as part of our
national and global community, we continue to make
consumption and production choices that are unsustainable.
The environment will thrive in the absence of an economy
or a society, but the opposite does not hold. Economic
and social wellbeing are intimately associated with the
condition of the environment and its ability to sustain us.
In general, what is good for the environment is good for
the economy in the long term.