Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

25 Chapter 1: Introduction The Eighth Environment Action Programme (8th EAP) is the EU’s joint programme for implementing the European Green Deal on the ground until 2030, guided by a long-term vision to 2050 of achieving wellbeing for all while staying within the planetary boundaries (Topic Box 1.1). A significant difference between the 8th EAP and its predecessors is its emphasis on the systemic character of sustainability challenges and the resulting need for similarly systemic solutions. The European Commission recently published its mid- term review of overall progress on the 8th EAP (EC, 2024a). The report noted that the EU’s 2030 climate and environment targets are within reach if the actions planned are fully implemented. This is further discussed in Chapter 16 of this report. This report is being finalised against a backdrop of recent European elections and some delay in implementing elements of the European Green Deal, in particular the Nature Restoration Law (Regulation 2024/1991), which has only recently come into force. Crises in political, economic and social spheres, including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, add to the complexity of maintaining political momentum on the green agenda, and ensuring that existing targets and instruments are implemented. Adopted by the European Council in 2024, the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029 2 sets the EU’s priorities for the next 5 years in line with Europe’s ambition to become the first climate-neutral continent, focusing on green and digital industries and technologies. Agreed priorities include more support for scaling up Europe’s manufacturing capacity for net zero technologies and products, while further simplifying rules on planning, tendering and permitting. There is a continued commitment in the Strategic Agenda 2024- 2029 to protect nature, reverse the degradation of ecosystems and improve water quality. Closer to home the third cycle of Ireland’s River Basin Management Plan (known as the Water Action Plan) has just been published and the first revision of the National Planning Framework is at consultation stage. A central message of the 2020 State of the Environment Report was a call for a national policy position on the environment. Delivering this policy position remains critical to addressing complex and interrelated challenges on climate, biodiversity and pollution and prevent damaging lock-ins. 2 www.consilium.europa.eu/media/4aldqfl2/2024_557_new-strategic-agenda.pdf (accessed 15 July 2024). 3. A different Ireland Ireland has changed radically over the past 50 years since joining the EU (Figure 1.2). Our population which now stands at 5.3 million people has grown by over 2.3 million over the past 50 years and is projected to grow to over 6.5 million and 7 million by 2057 in medium- and high-growth scenarios, respectively (CSO, 2024). Population growth and increased urbanisation impact the environment in a variety of ways, including changes in land use, increased traffic flows and the need for more infrastructure such as housing, water supply and sewerage. Life expectancy has greatly increased, and almost all private dwellings now have a piped water supply. The number of people in employment has increased by 1.5 million. Since joining the EU, our economy has moved from one based on agriculture to one in which pharmaceuticals and chemicals and related products account for the majority of our total net sales (Chapter 13). Car ownership has changed dramatically, and there are now almost 2.5 million more cars on the road than 50 years ago. This high car dependency has a very significant impact in terms of both greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions. The tourism sector is very important for the Irish economy. However, a significant increase in tourist numbers has put pressure on the water, waste and road infrastructure in many popular tourist destinations. Eurostat’s most recent progress report on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Eurostat, 2024) shows that Ireland is performing well on the SDGs associated with macroeconomic stability and fairness, but, concerningly, is performing poorly on a number of SDGs related to environmental sustainability. It is clear that, over the past 50 years, Ireland has become a modern and prosperous country and the gross pollution of our urban air environment and rivers has greatly reduced (Figure 1.2).