Significant investment in greener public transport and renewable energy will be key if Ireland wants to meet challenging World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality targets, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.
Deputy Whitmore, who is the party’s spokesperson on climate and energy, said:
“The latest report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows that while air quality in Ireland complies with current EU standards, achieving the more stringent WHO targets will be an uphill battle.
“The burning of solid fuel and emissions from traffic have been identified as the main sources of dangerous air pollutants, which contribute to around 1,600 premature deaths in this country every year.
“To encourage people to leave their cars at home, we must ramp up investment in greener public transport and continue with the decarbonisation of our bus and rail fleet. The expansion of our public EV charging network is also vital if we want drivers to switch to electric cars.
“Crucially, there needs to be a much stronger focus on switching to renewable energy, including the installation of solar panels on hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, if we are to have any chance of coming even close to WHO air quality targets.
“Local authorities around the country also need to be properly resourced to ensure there is full compliance with the ban on smoky coal products, with strict enforcement of penalties for offenders.
“Ireland has committed to achieving WHO guideline values by 2040, while also expected to hit interim targets for 2026 and 2030. However, at the current rate of progress, we have little chance of realising these goals unless we significantly scale up our level of ambition and take the practical steps needed to achieve them.”
September 23, 2024