3 June 2021
Ireland’s failure to adhere to EU ammonia limits has been predominantly driven by the growth of the agriculture sector, according to the EPA.
Ammonia is one of the gases that falls under the National Emissions Ceilings (NEC) Directive which sets to reduce national emissions for five air pollutants, including sulphur dioxide and fine particulate matter.
According to a
compliance assessment published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
today, Ireland’s ammonia emissions have been non-compliant for 7 out of the
last 9 years.
Ammonia is a toxic
gas that is a major by-product of animal-based agriculture that combines with
other pollutants to form particulate matter, one of the most dangerous and
deadly types of air pollution particles.
The gas also poses a
serious threat to biodiversity, with well-established links between its
presence and biodiversity loss.
To date, agriculture accounts for 99 per cent of all ammonia emissions in Ireland.
According to the latest available data from the EPA and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), emissions grew by 0.4 per cent between 2019 and 2020.
The sector’s growing emissions have been attributed to an increase in fuel and nitrogen fertiliser use as well as a growing cattle population.
Between June 2019 and June 2020, the national herd grew by 1.5 per cent and the total amount of dairy cows increased by 4.2 per cent.
“A risk to people’s health”
In response to the
revised data published by the EPA, An Taisce warned that Ireland is in serious
breach of its international obligations on ammonia emissions.
“This is no longer
just an issue of environmental damage by agriculture, it is also a serious risk
to people’s health,” Natural Environment Officer for An Taisce Dr. Elaine
McGoff said.
“Ammonia pollution is
an issue few are aware of, but it’s quickly becoming a major health and
environment threat in Ireland,” she added.
Despite decreasing in
2019, ammonia emissions continue to be non-compliant with the mandatory EU ceiling.
However, the country
can meet the compliance goal for the 2030 ceiling through the full implantation
of planned ammonia reduction measures, according to the EPA’s assessment.
In order to meet the
required targets, full implementation of planned policies and measures,
including those laid out in the 2019 Climate Action Plan, must be strictly
implemented to reduce emissions of air pollutants.
“These measures are
far-reaching and require big changes in the agriculture, transport and energy
sectors, including switching to cleaner fuels, technology improvements in
slurry application and a significant uptake of electric vehicles,” according to
EPA Senior Manager Stephen Treacy.
A reduction of over
30 per cent of air pollutants is required from all Member States if the EU is
to achieve its emission reduction commitments for 2030.
Out of 27 Member
States of the EU, 20 States remain off-track to meet one or more of the 2030
emission reduction commitments on the basis of their current policies.
Story by Shauna Burdis
The post Failure to stay within ammonia limits predominantly driven by agriculture appeared first on Green News Ireland.
