EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Chapter 10: Environment and Industry Next to the IED, which focuses on the control of pollution at the source (i.e. at industrial installations), there are a number of additional pieces of environmental legislation at the European level that address industrial activities. These include legislation setting overall emission limits, those requiring reporting of emissions and waste generated, and those stipulating better environmental quality, reducing emissions and controlling pollution (e.g. National Emission Ceilings Directive, EU Emissions Trading Scheme, European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register Regulations, Water Framework Directive, Environmental Liability Directive and Waste Statistics Regulations). These are addressed in other chapters of this report. Topic Box 10.2 explains the development and adoption of best available techniques (BAT) conclusions. Topic Box 10.2 Best Available Techniques To ensure a consistent approach across EU Member States, licence/permit conditions are based on the use of best available techniques (BAT). BAT standards (known as BAT conclusions) are prepared by a technical working group of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Member States, industry and civil society and are then legally adopted in the Official Journal of the EU. To date, there have been 16 sectoral BAT conclusions produced including those for power plants, chemical industry, intensive agriculture, food and drink, waste treatment and waste incineration (European IPPC Bureau, 2020). When a new BAT conclusion is adopted all licence/permit conditions for existing installations falling under the main activity of the relevant BAT conclusion have to be reconsidered and, if necessary, updated to ensure compliance within 4 years. Following licence/permit updates, plant operators are then legally required to meet emission levels specified in the BAT conclusions, unless a detailed derogation request based on costs and benefits is received, assessed and formally granted. In Ireland, this process is regulated by the EPA. Benefits from the Environmental Regulation of Industry Environmental regulation of industry contributes a large dividend in terms of environmental and human health improvements. Although environmental regulation is sometimes perceived as a threat to competitiveness, it often contributes a large dividend in terms of environmental and human health improvements (Figure 10.4). The cost of not implementing current EU environmental legislation (industrial, air quality, water framework, etc.) is broadly estimated at €55 billion across the EU. This cost relates not only to environmental impacts but also to human health impacts, as a result of breaches of air quality standards, for example (COWI/Eunomia, 2019). In addition, international and Irish evidence indicates that environmental regulations incentivise firms to introduce innovations with environmental benefits that could raise revenue and reduce production costs (Siedschlag et al. , 2019). Pioneering research undertaken by a Trinity College Dublin research team looking at the impact of the IPPC Directive (the precursor of the IED) on the Irish environment identified that there were aggregate pollution reductions in Ireland over a 7-year period of 22 per cent for the chemical sector, 28 per cent for the food and drink sector, 40 per cent for the pharmaceutical sector and 45 per cent for the power generation sector (Styles and Jones, 2010). The rest of this chapter is structured as follows. n emissions from licensed facilities n resource use in industrial sectors n waste generated by industrial sectors n circular economy for resource use and waste n enforcement of EPA licences for industrial facilities n policy measures for Ireland’s transition to a more sustainable and climate-neutral industry n research on industry and the environment. 261