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

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 The main climate and environmental impacts of the combustion of fossil fuels include: n the direct production of reactive gases such as nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and particulates, including black carbon (soot/diesel particulates) n the production of secondary pollutant gases and particulates such as ozone, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulphate and condensed compounds such as organic carbons n the release of heavy metals such as mercury and the formation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which build up in ecosystems and in food chains n the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide and methane. The relative impacts on air quality and climate change depend on the fossil fuel used and its quality. The combustion of solid fuels, such as coal and peat, has the largest impacts and gas combustion has the lowest impacts, with the combustion of liquid fuels typically having intermediate impacts. The most immediate impacts are local, over timescales of seconds to days. Acidification, ozone production and the build-up of heavy metals occur over longer periods of time and are regional and hemispheric in scale (Chapter 3). Emissions of GHGs have global impacts over long periods of time, from decades to centuries or longer (e.g. fossil carbon dioxide emissions disrupt the natural carbon cycle in the atmosphere, oceans and land for centuries to millennia). This is the key driver of climate change and ocean acidification (Chapter 2). At a global level important negative impacts and risks are associated with the extraction, processing, transport and storage of fossil fuels (Olson and Lenzmann, 2016). The combustion of biofuels can also result in significant emissions. These vary with fuel type and the combustion system used. Such emissions are being addressed through processes such as the Biofuels Obligation Scheme (DCCAE, 2019) (Table 12.1). However, sustainably produced biofuels, such as wood, biogas and ethanol, have reduced impacts on the climate system. The use of such fuels with mitigation technologies such as carbon capture and storage can provide significant negative emissions of carbon dioxide, which are required to prevent the dangerous impacts of climate change (IPCC, 2018). Nuclear energy is not produced in Ireland. Ireland is one of a number of EU Member States that does not have nuclear power in its domestic electricity generation mix. Nuclear power generation in Ireland is currently prohibited by legislation. The potential dangers of waste produced by nuclear fission are well known, as is the need for safe management of these wastes with strong national and international oversight bodies. 3. European Union and National Energy Policy Ireland is not positioned to meet its 2020 renewable energy target. Further steps are needed to meet its 2030 targets, and beyond. Historically, energy policy has been based mainly on issues of supply, security and price. The industrial revolution led to the widespread use of fossil energy in various forms across all economic sectors. The implications of this for our environment, human health and climate are increasingly apparent. As outlined in Topic Box 12.1, UN conventions on a range of international policy issues have emerged to address these implications. However, it is action to address climate change that requires the most radical developments in energy policy. More specifically, there is a requirement to achieve net zero carbon dioxide emissions in order to protect the climate system (and achieve climate neutrality goals). This imperative provides the basis for EU climate and energy policy as well as national policy, as articulated in the 2015 White Paper, Ireland’s Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future 2015-2030 (DCCAE, 2015). It is also central to the EU Green Deal (EC, 2019a) and proposed EU climate legislation (EC, 2020). The Green Deal includes the EU 2050 climate neutrality goal, which constitutes the basis for the EU long-term strategy under the Paris Agreement (UNFCCC, 2015). Similarly, EU Member States, including Ireland, will submit Long-Term Emissions Strategies (LTES) 2 under the 2015 Paris Agreement. These should reflect the messages from science on emissions pathways so that the Paris Agreement and EU climate goals can be achieved (Chapter 2). By setting an emissions and energy pathway to 2050, the LTES provide a framing for shorter term actions to 2030, under the Paris Agreement Nationally Determined Contribution process (UNFCCC, 2015). The first EU Nationally Determined Contribution is based on its climate and energy package for the period 2020-2030. The level of ambition in this package may be increased under the EU Green Deal (Chapter 2). At a national level, Ireland’s energy policy remains as articulated in the energy White Paper, Ireland’s Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future 2015-2030 (DCCAE, 2015), which would ultimately see a move away from fossil fuel use. The National Policy Position on climate change (Government of Ireland, 2014) includes energy in its ambition to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050. These policy goals have been expanded under the National Mitigation Plan (Government 2 The Paris Agreement and associated UN Framework Convention on Climate Change decisions require the development and submission of long-term low GHG emission development strategies. 306