EPA - Ireland's Environment 2016

Content of the Report

This report provides an overview of the current state

of Ireland’s environment. It uses information and

data available from the EPA and other organisations.

Environmental professionals working in different fields

across the EPA have used this information and data to

produce this update on the state of Ireland’s environment.

Following on from this short introduction section,

Section II examines the quality of our environment through

assessments covering air, climate, nature, water, waste

and land use and soil. Some of the environmental issues

discussed here include reducing greenhouse gas emissions

and vehicle exhaust emissions, tackling biodiversity loss

and the need to reduce the input of nutrients to waters.

These issues are also recognised as European and global

issues where action is needed.

Human health protection is a fundamental aspect and

a driver of much environmental legislation. Section III

explores how human health and the quality of the

environment are closely linked and how environmental

pollution can affect our quality of life. It also covers the

wider societal benefits of a good environment and how

this can lead to better health outcomes.

Section IV focuses on the environment and economy.

It looks at our current generation of products and

services and the resulting emissions, waste and residues.

It covers the concept of the circular economy, which

is a relatively new policy area being implemented in

the European Union (EU) that is intended to decouple

economic growth from its reliance on scarce resources

and to foster innovations that enable us to “do more with

less”. This would bring benefits to our environment as

well as to our economy. This section also delves into the

environmental challenges around the economic sectors

covering transport, energy and agriculture. It examines

the environmental impacts and effectiveness of policies

and programmes in these sectors.

Section V rounds off the report by providing an overview

of the priorities and main messages for improving the

quality of our environment in Ireland. It describes progress

made in addressing environmental issues within the

context of goals, targets and legislation from the European

Commission (EC). Ensuring effective implementation

and enforcement of legislation is still a critical factor

in ensuring that environmental and health protection

standards are achieved.

Mixed Progress in Addressing

Environmental Challenges

The 2012 State of the Environment report identified

four key environmental challenges for Ireland and these

challenges remain as valid now as they were in 2012

(EPA, 2012):

valuing and protecting our natural environment

building a resource efficient, low carbon economy

implementing environmental legislation

putting the environment at the centre of decision

making.

Based on the assessments presented in this latest report,

the overall score card 4 years on for these challenges is

mixed. Each of these challenges is complex and broad

and, although there have been some improvements,

we have not yet as a country fully transitioned into

developing everyday effective solutions to deal with these

environmental challenges. Biodiversity loss is still a real

issue. We are still highly dependent on fossil fuels and

meeting our 2020 greenhouse gas emissions targets will

be very challenging. We are slow in implementing some

environmental directives, particularly those linked to the

protection of water.

Many sectors of our economy now have plans that include

sustainability, but we are finding that reporting systems

need to be strengthened to measure through verifiable

evidence how these plans are performing over time. Only

then will we be able to judge whether the environment

is really at the centre of our decision making process,

as those plans with sound environmental policies and

Ireland’s Environment – An Assessment 2016