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

Chapter 16: Conclusions 4. Key Environmental Messages for Ireland The overall assessment from this report shows not only that there is a need for urgent approaches to address climate change and biodiversity decline, but also that there are other environmental priorities for Ireland, including tackling air and water pollution, investing in water services, improving recycling rates and improving air quality. When Dáil Éireann declared a climate and biodiversity emergency in 2019, Ireland was acknowledged as one of the first countries to officially recognise the gravity of these challenges (Dáil Éireann, 2019). As defining concerns for this century, these problems are global challenges and have been highlighted in recent assessment reports from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, 2019), the IPCC (2018, 2019) and the EEA (2019). However, Ireland must also set priorities to tackle specific environmental challenges in other areas. Protecting water quality is one such area. Waste management is another. This report presents a mixed picture on many aspects of the state of the environment in Ireland. One emerging area that needs more attention is the environmental impact of chemicals. Action in this area will both protect health and deliver on the zero-pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment proposed in the European Green Deal. Indeed, because of the multifaceted nature of many of the issues highlighted in this assessment’s overall key SOE messages (Table 16.2) and chapter highlights (Table 16.3), the consequence of fixing an issue in one area will often lead to co-benefits for another area. For example, measures to reduce GHG emissions should also reduce other air pollutants, in turn benefiting public health. Furthermore, a consistent call for better implementation and delivery of legislation, strategies, plans, programmes and policies runs throughout the messages in this report. There are plans and programmes in place for many areas, which, if fully implemented, would go a long way towards resolving persistent environmental issues. Moreover, if we are serious about protecting the environment, we need to resource it. Sustainable finance options are needed to fund solutions and investment in green technologies, as well as to provide funding for nature and community projects, monitoring, regulation and oversight. The spatial aspect of environmental issues has been mentioned in several chapters. The indications are that much better approaches to managing conflicting land uses and practices are needed to protect the environment. For example, we need to leave space for nature, maintain setback spaces along rivers to protect water quality, consider nature-based solutions for flood mitigation, promote areas best suited to high nature value farming and set out peatlands areas to be restored as spaces for carbon storage, flood attenuation and nature. We must step back from intensive agricultural and land use practices that are affecting or posing threats to the environment and human health. Green, blue and quiet areas could be identified and protected in cities and large towns. However, at the same time we need to keep space for recreation and tourism and have spaces for farming to prosper; we also need to allow sustainable economic growth, housing and development. We need to identify the right locations for energy projects and industry. In relation to agriculture, we must recognise that there is a role for the ‘right measure in the right place’, including appreciating and recognising exemplary practice where it exists. However, these local variations must be underpinned by fundamental changes across the food system to address the core challenges. There needs to be a recognition that planned growth cannot be uniform across the country and that local environmental factors need to ultimately determine where growth takes place. The EPA has identified chapter highlights at the end of each of the chapters in this report. These are collated and shown in Table 16.3 at the end of this chapter. These ‘chapter highlights’ cover thematic, sectoral and integrated messages. These have been used to identify the ‘overall key messages from SOE 2020 for Ireland’ (Table 16.2). Still relevant, the key actions for the protection of the environment in Ireland from the 2016 state of the environment report have also been accounted for when developing these overall key SOE messages. Sustained progress in addressing the overall key SOE messages and the chapter highlights is necessary to meet people’s rightful expectations to live in a healthy environment, for Ireland to evolve as a sustainable, carbon- neutral, climate-resilient economy, and to safeguard nature and protect people’s health and wellbeing. 431