Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The Irish Times view on the Irish environment: a deepening crisis

The poor state of the physical environment could undermine food security and erode wild spaces

Danger to health as Ireland set to fall short of WHO air pollution targets, says EPA report

Burning of solid fuels and persistent transport emissions are country’s worst air pollutants

Irish rivers and lakes: Farms to be assessed for nitrates run-off in fresh bid to tackle water pollution

Sixty new staff will be employed by local authorities to carry out increased inspections

If warnings about Atlantic ocean circulation are correct, Irish people could become climate migrants

New studies say a dramatic drop in temperatures here could happen a lot sooner than previously feared

I have no complaints about the Irish summer weather

The Irish weather is like a gaslighting frenemy whose mood can dramatically change on a dime. Feeling safe, warm and happy? You’d better watch out

Irish leaders need to start being honest about livestock’s long shadow and our unsustainable diets

Meat and dairy provides only 13% of calories globally but are responsible for nearly 85% of greenhouse gas emissions linked with food production

Irish weather patterns indicate ‘global weirding’ is a threat to our food security, farmer and data scientist says

Mark Kelly believes global warming is ‘too benign a term’ given the extreme rainfall in Ireland over the past year

Will 200-year-old maps help inform decisions on crucial habitat restoration and future land use?

New digital archive of first ordnance survey maps of island of Ireland coincides with completion of first detailed national land cover map

Ireland moves climate dial as wastewater settles into farmers’ crosshairs

Irish farmers have delivered a 30 per cent reduction in their use of chemical nitrogen in just two years

On-the-spot water test for dangerous form of E.coli developed by Irish scientists

Technology predicted to help protect people drinking water from private sources including groundwater wells

Appeal court finds ‘no legal basis’ for order preventing firm extracting peat from part of Midlands bogs

Harte Peat argued some land considered by High Court not being extracted when EPA brought application

Survey shows 80 per cent of Irish people are ‘alarmed’ or ‘concerned’ about climate change

Findings of Environmental Protection Agency study show climate scepticism is rare in Ireland

Rise in E.coli contamination found in private water supplies

Unmonitored private drinking water supplies adding to public health risk for consumers, who are mainly based in rural areas

New national water action plan to curb pollution and flooding approved by Cabinet

New approach to have significant implications for farmers as it will allow for revisions to controversial 1945 Arterial Drainage Act

Peter Burke revealed something about the ‘organised hypocrisy’ of the State’s climate approach

Hypocrisy and misalignments undermine public trust in climate policies and threaten public buy-in

Burning coal, peat and wood is associated with poorer mental health, ESRI finds

Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter can also cause chronic disease and cancer

Failure to curtail our greenhouse gas emissions could cost us two children’s hospitals

In the public mind, 2030 has wrongly become the cornerstone of climate policy, rather than the imperative of complying with two legally-required carbon budgets

Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 reach lowest level in three decades

State still ‘well off track’ for 2030 targets despite reductions in almost all sectors

Ireland is one of Europe’s climate laggards despite progress

Do not be fooled by a cool June in Ireland - our planet is on track for its hottest year and cutting emissions is vital

How concerned should we be about our ‘at risk’ public water supplies?

Those exposed to poor supplies are consuming water with potentially serious health consequences

Half a million people now served by ‘at risk’ public water supplies

Deterioration in supplies due in the main to sustained problems of hazardous THMs and parasite cryptosporidium

Irish Science Media Centre set up to tackle rising misinformation and enhance public understanding

To combat ‘soundbites and clickbait’, project aims to provide trusted sources for public and policymakers

Almost all of radiation found in Irish people from natural sources - EPA

Almost 60 per cent of dose is due to the radioactive gas Radon in indoor air

Agriculture and industry emissions may be peaking, CSO data indicates

Industry and agriculture’s emissions may be peaking, according to latest air data

Worrying lack of progress in water quality, says EPA

Water bodies will not improve until urban and agricultural nutrients are reduced, watchdog says

Ireland should consider small nuclear reactors to achieve zero-carbon energy by 2050, engineers’ think tank urges

Small modular nuclear reactors may prove to be viable, cost-effective and necessary if economy is to decarbonise, Irish Academy of Engineering report finds

Eamon Ryan’s extra measures to combat climate change are magical thinking

Environmental protesters seeking to block an emissions-cutting €1.5bn wind farm in order to preserve a weather station typify the shortsightedness that will hamper State in meeting its targets

Consumers struggle to spot ‘greenwashing’ in ads, says ESRI

Greenwashing tactics make it difficult for genuinely sustainable businesses to compete against ones that mislead consumers, study finds

The Irish Times view on Ireland’s climate strategy: falling further behind target

The State has made little progress towards lowering emissions over the past year and 2030 targets are quickly becoming impossible to achieve

Plan to replace imported gas with cheaper biomethane from Irish farms

Series of measures agreed by Cabinet to scale up climate actions at a faster pace

Irish winters could drop to -15 degrees in ‘runaway climate change’ scenario, reports find

Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan details the particular risks for Ireland based on latest scientific evidence

Expansion of climate actions urgently needed with world warming ‘quicker than anticipated’, says Eamon Ryan

Minister for Climate says Ireland has to be ‘really strong’ to avoid ‘horrific eventuality’ of climate tipping points

Ireland set to miss national and EU emissions reduction targets by long way

Environmental Protection Agency predicts emission limits will continue to be exceeded at a time when sustained reductions are needed

Explainer: Where there are big emissions gaps and no clear path to achieving national targets

Ireland continues to be the second worst carbon emitter per capita in EU and ranks 20th out of 27 member states in progress to national targets

Young people misjudge older generations’ concern about climate crisis, notes ESRI research

People up in years ‘willing to play their part’ to mitigate global warming, according to study findings

Heavy summer rainfall putting pressure on Irish beaches and increasing temporary closures, EPA warns

Water quality ‘remains high overall’ but problem of poor quality beaches persists in Greater Dublin Area, 2023 report finds

Almost half of septic tanks inspected by local authorities last year failed

The EPA, through the National Inspection Plan, has identified rivers and areas where household drinking water wells are most at risk of contamination by faulty septic tanks

No ‘do not drink’ notices have ever been imposed on public water supplies due to toxic chemical levels

Uisce Éireann to issue explanatory booklets to almost 300,000 people served by supplies with high levels of THMs

Odour and noise issues account for 90% of complaints to EPA about licensed industrial facilities

A first successful District Court prosecution for extraction of peat without a licence was recorded by the Environmental Protection Agency last year

Ecological tragedy in Clare heralds imminent water crisis in Ireland

Ballymacraven river may never recover from pollution that killed thousands of fish, an incident that highlights an even wider problem as the State’s water treatment infrastructure creaks under growing pressure

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