Thurles Information

EPA has started a 3-year project that will improve the level of air quality information available to the public and policy makers in Ireland.
LIFE EMERALD is part funded by the European Commission LIFE funding programme.

The main objectives are: –

• An operational 3-day ambient air quality forecast;
• Near real-time mapping of the main air pollutants throughout the country and in our major cities and towns; and
• Annual mapping of air pollutants across the country
• The project will support Irish citizens in making decisions that positively benefit their health on a day-to-day basis.

The EPA has commenced work on a new 3-year EU part funded project entitled LIFE Emerald – “Emissions Modelling and Forecasting of Air in Ireland”. The project proposes to greatly improve publicly available air quality information and raise awareness around the topic of Irish air quality.

The LIFE EMERALD project will also improve Ireland’s ambient air quality management capabilities, by using an air quality modelling system to gain a better understanding of the factors contributing to poor air quality and develop a system that will provide better information to the public. The project will deliver the following: –

• An operational 3-day ambient air quality forecasting system, which will inform the public of the predicted air quality in the coming days, allowing them to make decisions to better protect their health.
• Near real-time (NRT) air quality maps, to provide more detailed information to the public, which will incorporate live data from the growing EPA ambient air quality network.
• Annual air pollutant maps, which will allow for more detailed air pollution assessment.

On the commencement of the LIFE EMERALD Project EPA Director Dr. Micheál Lehane, has stated,

“LIFE EMERALD will help deliver the first operational national air quality forecast for Ireland. This will allow citizens to become much more informed on their own actions in response to forecast air quality. It will greatly strengthen our knowledge of air pollution nationally. We are delighted to receive the funding from the EU LIFE Programme to help us proceed with this project and we hope to deliver a greater understanding of Ireland’s air quality into the future.”

The EPA will manage the project in co-operation with its main project partners the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, the Health Service Executive, the Asthma Society of Ireland, University College Cork and the Belgian research institute VITO. The EPA will also consult and co-operate with other national stakeholders that have an interest in the area of air quality, such as the Irish Heart Foundation.

Ms Sarah O’Connor, CEO of the Asthma Society stated,

“Ireland has the highest incidence rate of asthma in Europe with one in ten children and one in thirteen adults developing the condition – with 890,000 people likely to develop asthma in their lifetimes. The Asthma Society of Ireland welcomes the opportunity to be part of the LIFE EMERALD Project as the link between clean air and improved human health is clear.”

Mr. Mark Murphy, the Advocacy Officer at Irish Heart Foundation, stated,

“At the Irish Heart Foundation, we welcome the EPA’s LIFE EMERALD project as it will help raise public awareness of the significant damage that air pollution does to cardiovascular health, and highlight what measures could be introduced to reduce the 1,300 premature annual deaths caused by air pollution, the majority of which are due to stroke or heart disease.’’

The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023, with priority given to the provision of the air quality forecast in early 2023.

• In 2020, greenhouse gas emissions from Irish power generation and industrial companies – covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, fell by 6.4 per cent.
• Emissions decreased by 8.4 % from the electricity generation sector, due to more renewable energy and less fossil fuels.
• The overall decrease in industrial emissions is 3.5%, with the cement industry emissions decreasing and increases recorded for the dairy and pharmachem sectors.
• Greenhouse gas emissions from aviation decreased by 63% compared to 2019, which reflects the significant impact of Covid-19.

The EPA, as the Competent Authority in Ireland for the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), today released its preliminary analysis of greenhouse gas emissions in 2020. Emissions from Irish power generation and industrial companies fell by 6.4% (0.9 million tonnes) in 2020, to their lowest level since the EU ETS was introduced in 2005. This compares with a decrease of approximately 11-12% across Europe.

The decrease in emissions is due to the impact of lower production in some industrial sectors during the pandemic, combined with a significant drop in power generation emissions. Power generation emissions dropped by 8.4% as a result of the strong presence of renewable energy – mainly wind generation – and less use of fossil fuels, such as peat, in our energy mix. In contrast, emissions from the ESB coal-fired plant at Moneypoint increased by almost 27%, mainly due to increased demand for balance on the National Grid.

Aside from power generation, the decrease in industrial emissions collectively is 3.5%.

• Cement industries recorded a 5.7% decrease overall.
• The dairy processing industry showed a 4.0% increase.
• Emissions from pharmachem industries increased by 10.9%.

Aviation emissions from flights within the European Economic Area reported to Ireland decreased by 63% compared to 2019, to 4.74 million tonnes. The only airline showing an increase in emissions in 2019 and 2020 specialises in air freight.

Dr. Maria Martin, EPA Senior Manager, stated:
“We welcome the overall decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 from large industry and power generation. However, underlying this decrease are some contrasting trends. An increase in the use of renewables in the power generation sector – coupled with the impact of Covid-19 – leads to less emissions. There are, nevertheless, many companies in the industrial sectors, such as dairy processing and pharmachem, where emissions are increasing year on year.

A positive development is the fact that the price of carbon in the EU ETS has continued to rise from just under €31 per tonne at the end of 2020 to €43 per tonne currently. It is not yet clear if this will be sufficient and stable enough to drive emissions reductions.”

In Ireland, 105 major industrial and institutional sites were required to report their emissions for 2020, by March 31st 2021 in the Emissions Trading System. These include sites operating in the power generation, cement, lime, and oil refining sectors. Also included are large companies in sectors such as food & drink, pharmaceuticals and semi-conductors.
Details of the verified emissions of greenhouse gases in 2020 are available on the EU’s website HERE. The data are not complete for all Member states. Analysis of the EU data can be found in Carbon Pulse HERE.

Further details about Emissions Trading are available on the EPA website HERE.
Further information about Ireland’s overall greenhouse gas emissions is also available on their website and the EPA has developed useful infographics and published the detailed greenhouse gas inventory HERE.