Dr Mary Kelly, director general of the Environmental Protection Agency, will leave the agency at the end of the summer to take up her new appointment as chair of An Bord Pleanala. Dr Kelly has been director general of the EPA since 2002 and has led the EPA effectively through profound change in that time. … Read more
The EPA has welcomed publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Renewable Energy sources and Climate Change mitigation (SRREN). The report shows that global potential for renewable energy is substantially higher than both current and projected future global energy demand. This is the case globally and in most regions of … Read more
The quality of Ireland’s bathing waters remains high, with 97% of designated bathing areas meeting the EU mandatory standards, and classed as being of ‘sufficient’ water quality status, according to the EPA’s recent report ‘The Quality of Bathing Water in Ireland – An Overview for the Year 2010’. In addition, 90% of bathing waters meet … Read more
Ireland can comply with its Kyoto commitments (2008-2012) with regard to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but is predicted to breach its annual obligations under the EU 2020 target, from 2016 onwards. This is according to the EPA’s recently published greenhouse gas emissions projections for the period 2010 to 2020. The figures show the projected trends … Read more
The EPA has published information on Ireland’s position in 2009 in relation to meeting the 2010 obligations under the National Emissions Ceilings Directive (NEC Directive). The figures show the trends for four key air pollutants – sulphur dioxide (S02), nitrogen oxides (N0X), volatile organic compounds (VOC) and ammonia (NH3) – over the period 1990 to … Read more
Despite the difficult economic circumstances during 2010 Ireland’s environment continues to be of high quality, according to the EPA’s End of Year Statement for 2010. ”The EPA has a clear focus on what it needs to achieve as the Agency charged with overseeing environmental protection in Ireland. Limiting and adapting to climate change and making … Read more
The European Environment Agency (EEA) has launched its fourth Environment State and Outlook report (SOER 2010). This report provides an overview of the state of Europe’s environment, how and why it is changing, and what we are doing about it. The Environmental Protection Agency provided Ireland’s input into the SOER 2010 analysis through the EPA’s … Read more
Ireland’s Greenhouse Gas emissions fell by 5.4 million tonnes (7.9%) in 2009, according to provisional Greenhouse Gas emissions figures just released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Agriculture remains the single largest contributor to the overall emissions, at 29.1% of the total, followed by energy (primarily power generation) and transport both at 21.1% share. The … Read more
The EPA has launched its new Environment in Focus site. The environmental indicators’ website allows easier public access to environmental data that has been gathered by the EPA and external bodies. Information is presented as a dashboard of key environmental indicators arranged under seven themes – climate change, air, water, waste, land, nature and socio-economics. … Read more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has hosted a significant conference on climate change to address the key elements of the Copenhagen Accord, agreed at the December 2009 meeting of the UNFCCC, and to contribute to preparations for the forthcoming conference in Cancun, Mexico in November 2010. The conference was opened by Ciaran Cuffe, TD, Minister … Read more