Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

336 Chapter 13: Environment and Industry Topic Box 13.1  Industrial Emissions Directive The IED (2024/1785/EU) which amended IED (2010/75/EU) is the primary instrument in place to control and mitigate environmental and health impacts arising from industrial emissions in Ireland and across the EU. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the competent authority in Ireland for the IED. In the revised directive, additional intensive agriculture and large-scale battery production activities will be brought into scope. The revision will require a greater focus on energy, water and material efficiency and reuse, in addition to promoting the use of safer, less toxic or non-toxic chemicals in industrial processes. Licences issued under the revised IED will include tighter controls on air and water emissions, additional monitoring where a derogation has been granted and enhanced public access to information. There is also a requirement to have greater synergies with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation 3 and with authorities, particularly in relation to chemical management systems at installations and in developing sector- specific good practice for chemical manufacture. 3 eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02006R1907-20221217 (accessed 15 July 2024). 4 www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/04/12/industrial-emissions-council-signs-off-on-updated-rules-to-better- protect-the-environment/ (accessed 15 July 2015). The revised directive will offer better protection to human health and the environment by reducing harmful emissions from industrial installations while promoting energy efficiency, a circular economy and decarbonisation. 4 There are approximately 50,000 installations in Europe operating in accordance with IED licences across 65 industrial activity types such as cement, chemical and power plants (Figure 13.1). Table 13.1  Mapping of Industrial Emissions Directive to selected European Green Deal policies a POLICY AREA EXAMPLES OF IED CONTRIBUTION AND RELEVANCE Zero Pollution Action Plan ■ Prevents and reduces emissions of pollutants to air, water and soil ■ Seeks to ensure that emissions do not lead to exceedances of environmental quality standards defined in air and water legislation ■ Regulates transfers of industrial pollutants to urban waste water treatment plants Climate change and energy policies ■ Takes GHG emissions of pollutant reduction techniques into account ■ Regulates emission of GHGs not covered by the ETS (e.g. methane) ■ Identifies energy efficiency techniques and established energy performance levels for specific processes ■ Requires transformation plans (under the revised IED) Sustainable chemicals ■ Reduces the presence of harmful chemicals in the environment ■ Will require chemical management systems at installations and the development of sector-specific good practice for chemical manufacture (under the revised IED) Circular economy/ waste ■ Promotes the efficient use of materials, water and energy and encourages waste prevention/recycling and the use of secondary raw materials ■ Reduces emissions of pollutants from waste management installations Nature and biodiversity ■ Contributes to protecting biodiversity, by curbing pollutant emissions, one of the drivers of biodiversity loss a eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:8695b069-b5a9-11ec-b6f4-01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF ETS, Emissions Trading System; GHG, greenhouse gas.