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

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 Topic Box 16.1 The Environment During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic The Department of Health confirmed a total of 2010 COVID-19-related deaths and 69,473 cases of COVID-19 on 19 November 2020. 2 As well as affecting public health, the necessary restrictions to limit the transmission of the coronavirus very quickly gave rise to a severe recession and unprecedented levels of unemployment (Department of Finance, 2020). The coronavirus pandemic continues to affect many aspects of Irish society, including the environment. Ireland in thePandemic:EnvironmentalObservations 1 IRELAND IN THE PANDEMIC: ENVIRONMENTAL OBSERVATIONS Coronavirus COVID-19 ENVIRONMENTALLICENSINGPROGRAMME LICENSINGPLANFOR2017 44% 17% 10% IndustrialEmissions/ IndustrialPollutionControl Waste ChangeProject WasteWaterDischarge GMO OtherWork Licensing Inspector Resource OEEPriority Sites Greenfield& Significant Investments Revenue Environmental Outcome Ageof Application Statutory Deadline/ Infringement Risk Policy Drivers Client and ThirdParty Demand ENVIRONMENTAL LICENSING PROGRAMME LICENSING PLAN FOR 2016 6% 4% 19% The EPA report Ireland in the Pandemic: Environmental Observations (EPA, 2020c) details how environmental issues were affected during the COVID-19 mandatory ‘stay at home’ and subsequent restriction periods. Primarily, the combination of less traffic on the roads, the curtailment of industrial activities and flights and the increase in the number of people working from home led to changes in emissions and in the generation of waste. The report’s findings were as follows: n Air quality improved in urban areas, with a significant decrease in pollution from traffic, but no apparent change to date in pollution from burning solid fuels in the home. The situation in relation to emissions in urban areas from the burning solid fuels in the home could change as winter approaches. n There was a sharp rise in household waste and a decrease in commercial and retail waste reflective of people being at home and closed commercial and retail premises. In tandem with the increase in domestic waste, there was evidence of an increase in illegal dumping, and enquiries to the EPA website increased fourfold in relation to illegal backyard burning. n A large increase in environmental complaints was recorded during the initial restriction period. The EPA worked with local authorities and others to make sure that complaints were addressed. In addition, the EPA investigated complaints received from the public about licensed facilities. A further joint report from the EPA and the SEAI is expected to be published in 2020 covering GHG emissions during the COVID crisis. Ongoing work in the preparation of this report has indicated that there was a decrease in air pollutants and GHG emissions from the transport and energy sectors with agricultural emissions largely unaffected. Lower fuel prices may have an impact on efforts to decouple industrial emissions from economic growth as COVID restrictions ease (EPA, 2020d). COVID-19 stay safe at work poster published by the Department of Health. A small-scale research study, commissioned for this report, looked at the main environment-related impacts arising from the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland, both positive and negative (O’Leary et al. , 2020a). This study provides a detailed assessment of data across several environmental areas for March and April 2020, which includes the time frame from the implementation of initial restrictions (12 March) to the start of the eventual lock-down (27 March). Data for May 2020 were also included where available (see Figure 1.1 in Chapter 1 for a summary of the findings). A further COVID-19- related research study examined issues around access to and use of blue and green spaces during the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland (Kindermann et al. , 2020). This research highlights that ‘the COVID-19 new normal presents a unique transformative opportunity to rapidly “reset the system”, to alter behaviours and attitudes towards blue/green spaces for the betterment of our environments, and for our health and wellbeing’. 2 https://www.gov.ie/en/news/7e0924-latest-updates-on-covid-19- coronavirus/. 424