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

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 Existing Measures Have Been Only Partially Successful in Addressing Environmental Issues The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2016 state of the environment report outlined that Ireland was at a crossroads in terms of how it addressed the global environmental challenge of climate change (EPA, 2016). Four years on, projections show that Ireland will not meet its 2020 targets for reducing GHG emissions by domestic actions alone. The purchase of reductions is likely to be required to ensure compliance with EU requirements. The latest GHG data compiled by the EPA for 2019 show that Ireland exceeded its annual emissions allocation for 2019 under the EU’s Effort Sharing Decision by almost 7 million tonnes, and is therefore not on the pathway required to meet its 2020 targets (EPA, 2020a). This follows an exceedance of 5 million tonnes in 2018. EPA projections on GHG emissions for reductions this decade out to 2030 indicate that it will be a serious challenge to meet these targets too; however, it could potentially be achieved if decisive action is taken now to implement the commitments and measures in the Climate Action Plan (EPA, 2020b; DCCAE, 2019). Water quality in Irish rivers has further declined over the past 4 years. Biodiversity continues to be at risk due to habitat loss and damage. Too few of Ireland’s sea areas have been designated as marine protected areas. Local authorities still receive tens of thousands of complaints each year about waste and litter issues. We need a common understanding about what the circular economy means for how we consume and use raw materials and how we can maximise the value of materials and products during their lifespan and extract the maximum value of resources within waste. A large share of packaging waste is not currently recyclable in Ireland, and packaging recycling rates have been gradually declining since 2012. Sectoral plans for transport, energy and agriculture will need to demonstrate that they remain focused on achieving their environmental commitments through good-quality environmental data and evidence. These are all major systemic issues requiring immediate and relentless action. The Strategic Environmental Assessment process provides a mechanism for the environmental effects of sectoral plans to be assessed and monitored. What is lacking is an obligation to report on this monitoring. Better and more integrated implementation of existing legislation, plans and policies is needed to reverse the negative environmental trends outlined in this report, but new measures are also needed to change how the environment is viewed and protected. Where there are Clear Policies, Commitment and Resources, there have been Positive Results for Environmental Protection There are positive areas to highlight as well. Since the first of the series of Ireland’s state of the environment reports was published in 1996, many examples of environmental improvement have been recorded. These include successes in the areas of industrial regulation and emissions, waste management and wastewater discharges. For the most part, these improvements are more apparent where site- specific problems were identified and where regulatory regimes, technological solutions and investment have been readily available. Over the last 20 years, 120 poorly operated landfills have been replaced by four modern facilities and we have moved from disposing of nearly 100 per cent of municipal waste to landfill to sending a residual of 15 per cent to landfill. The plastic bag levy has also altered behaviours. Industrial regulation is working efficiently with environmental information openly available on-line to all. There have also been improvements in the monitoring of drinking water and air quality. National and community-level initiatives are now working well to improve the environment. They include initiatives to prevent food waste, work on Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly climate module, the National Dialogue on Climate Action, integrated action to improve water quality in catchments, citizen science projects and nature conservation projects such as those covered by the European Innovation Partnership for Agriculture Productivity and Sustainability (DAFM, 2019), the LIFE and Leader programmes and other funding mechanisms. The EPA-coordinated and more widely coordinated, national environmental research projects provide expert scientific support and evidence for environmental policy development, implementation and broader decision-making. We need to better use the knowledge gained from best practice projects and research to help protect and improve our natural environment and human health. 422