EPA - Ireland's Environment 2016 - An Assessment

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Ireland’s Environment – An Assessment 2016 192
Under the current EU Effort Sharing decision, Ireland has
a target of 20% emissions reduction relative to 2005
compared to an EU average of 10%, from activities in the
Non – Emissions Trading Sectors (Non ETS) by 2020. In
July 2016, the EU announced proposals for a new Climate
and Energy Framework to 2030 including a target of
30% emissions reduction for non-ETS in Ireland which is
exactly the same as the proposed EU average reduction,
by 2030.5 The proposed 2030 targets remain challenging
for Ireland especially in the context of limited emissions
mitigation options within agriculture and projections for
growth within the sector. It is important that the most
effective available mitigation options are deployed, and
make a meaningful contribution to meeting Ireland’s
non-ETS target. The sector should also engage fully with
incentives to maintain and enhance sequestration within
the LULUCF sector (Chapter 3), especially on those lands
directly associated with agricultural production. This would
enable access to the flexible mechanisms proposed under
the new EU Climate and Energy Package and also support
the credibility of Ireland’s “Green” agri-food image.
In the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development –
National Policy Position Ireland6 paper, the Government
sets out the long term objective of “an approach to
carbon neutrality in the agriculture and land – use sector,
including forestry, which does not compromise capacity
for sustainable food production”. This is an explicit
recognition of the profound challenges in decoupling
food production from GHG emissions and the unique
potential for carbon sequestration in biomass, soils and
wood products through alternative land management and
land use. At national and EU levels, there is commitment
to improved reporting of the impact of land use with the
development and implementation of polices and measures
which demonstrate progress towards sustainable land use
and enhanced carbon stock changes. In addressing these
challenges Ireland must invest in structural and behavioural
change to enable the transition to a carbon neutral,
climate resilient environment.
Ammonia and Other Emissions to Air
and Agriculture
In Ireland agriculture accounts for nearly all ammonia
emissions to air.
Agriculture is a source of transboundary air pollutants
including ammonia and Volatile Organic Compounds.
Similar to other EU countries, the agriculture sector is
the largest source of ammonia emissions to air in Ireland
and accounted for 98% of total national emissions in
5 Factsheet on the Commission’s proposal on binding GHG emission
reductions for Member States (2021-2030) (July 2016)
6
2014 (EPA, 2016a). The ammonia emission trend is
largely determined by the cattle population and showed
a steady increase to 1998. There has been some decline
in the populations of cattle and sheep since 1999, as
well as a decrease in fertiliser use, and this contributed
to a reduction in emissions between 1999 and 2011. The
ammonia emissions from the agriculture sector in 2014
were 0.9 % lower than the emission levels in 1990 and
12.4 % lower than the peak levels in 1998. Ireland has
obligations under the revised National Emissions Ceiling
Directive to achieve progressive reductions for ammonia by
2020 and 2030 of 1% and 5% based on a 2005 baseline
(see Chapter 2). Given that ammonia emissions are largely
determined by cattle numbers projected increases in the
national herd present a real challenge to achieving these
reductions.
Agriculture is also a source of Non-Methane Volatile
Organic Compounds (NMVOCs) and particulate matter.
Similar to ammonia, NMVOC emissions arise in all stages
of manure management, housing, storage and land
application of manures. Livestock feeding and livestock
housing are sources of particulate matter. NMVOCs from
agriculture account for 48 % of the national inventory
total and predominantly come from manure management.
Agriculture emissions of particulate matter contribute an
estimated 14.5% of PM2.5 and 44.7% of PM10 to national
totals for these pollutants.
Biodiversity and Agriculture
Changes in agricultural practice remain one of the
threats to both habitats and species and the trend in
biodiversity loss in protected areas has not been halted.
Much of Ireland’s rich biodiversity has evolved from
agricultural land management. However, in protected
areas the recent trend in biodiversity loss has not been
halted and agriculture remains one of the main threats
to both protected habitats and species. Insufficient data
on the status of biodiversity in the other areas used for
agriculture is creating a significant challenge in addressing
the negative impacts and developing responses. Progress
in developing our understanding of biodiversity nationally
is being made via the Mapping and Assessment of
Ecosystems Services project (Chapter 4). It is, however,
clear that a robust baseline monitoring system and
comprehensive ecosystems mapping is needed nationally
to assess the overall impact of changes in agricultural
practices on biodiversity in the rural environment.
In the context of protected habitats, agriculture was
identified by the National Parks and Wildlife Service as a
high-intensity pressure or threat in over 35% of protected
habitats and as a pressure or threat in over 70% of these
habitats (NPWS, 2013). In respect of protected species,
agriculture was identified as a high-intensity pressure
or threat for 10% of these species and as a pressure or