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

Chapter 16: Conclusions Table 16.3  The 45 chapter highlights covering thematic, sectoral and integrated areas from Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 NUMBER CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS Introduction (1) The absence of an overarching national environmental policy position is negatively affecting integration and progress across multiple environmentally related strategies, plans and programmes: the sum of the parts do not make up a coherent whole. Introduction (2) As Ireland emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and looks to stimulate economic recovery, it needs to apply a ‘green investment’ approach and avoid lock-in, or a return to carbon-intensive consumption and unstainable production behaviours, services and technologies. A clean environment provides the opportunity to deliver on health and economic dividends that will assist resilience and support recovery. Introduction (3) Protection of our waters, air, soil, ecosystems and biodiversity should not just be an ambition driven by altruism, as these systems and species provide essential supporting services for our wellbeing and our economy. The delivery of trusted and actionable knowledge about our environment is essential to allow Ireland to plan with any degree of certainty for a better future. Climate (1) Ireland’s climate is changing. Mitigation and adaptation action that is planned, coordinated and prioritised is required to build the resilience of society and the economy in the face of current and projected climate change impacts. Climate (2) The next decade needs to be one of major developments and advances in relation to Ireland’s response to climate change. We need to start implementing ambitious policies now. Full and early implementation of ambitious policies and measures can deliver Ireland’s current and future commitments to a climate-neutral economy and climate-resilient society by 2050. Climate (3) The scale and pace of greenhouse gas emissions reductions must accelerate. Reducing emissions requires far-reaching transformative change across the whole economy, including in agriculture, energy, transport, waste, land use, food, buildings and industry. Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions profile – with over one-third of emissions coming from agriculture and a high dependency on fossil fuels – is particularly challenging. Ireland must also maximise the use of land as carbon stores, for example through grasslands, wetlands and forestry, to meet targets. Air (1) Monitoring and research show that Ireland has air quality issues that need to be resolved. Poor air quality has implications for public health. Identified solutions need to be implemented for the causes of poor air quality, which mainly relate to the residential use of solid fuels for home heating, emissions from transport, especially from diesel and petrol engine passenger cars, and ammonia-related emissions from livestock farming. Air (2) Using home heating choices that reduce air emissions, along with improved standards for the quality of solid fuel available, will help to minimise local air quality impacts. Reducing our reliance on diesel- and petrol-fuelled passenger cars and the adoption of best practices to reduce agricultural ammonia emissions on farms will have co-benefits for air quality, the climate, human health and biodiversity. In addition, the implementation of the commitments in the government’s Climate Action Plan will have co-benefits for air quality. Air (3) The need for a National Clean Air Strategy supported by WHO standards is more pressing than ever. The publication and roll-out of actions as part of the National Clean Air Strategy will be a necessity. The adoption of the WHO guideline values as national air quality standards would provide for a higher level of public health protection. Noise (1) National noise planning guidance for local authorities is needed. This will support and promote the proactive management of noise where it is likely to have significant adverse impacts on health and quality of life. The guidance will also help to implement the noise objective in Project Ireland – National Planning Framework 2040 and should also consider the 2018 WHO noise and health guidelines. 449