Ireland looks set to miss its legally-binding EU waste targets and faces 'significant challenges' in meeting its carbon-cutting targets
This is the gloomy conclusion of research commissioned by the country's Environmental Protection Agency and published this week.
The Irish Sustainable Development (Isus) model uses economic forecasts to predict waste generation and pollution emissions and is the result of a three-year study undertaken by the Dublin-based Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
The study suggests Ireland will struggle with its 2020 greenhouse gas emissions targets and is unlikely to meet its EU obligations on diverting biodegradable waste from landfill - which will probably mean fines.
It also maps out who is most likely to pay the highest carbon tax, with those in the commuter belt likely to pay the biggest bill.
On the plus side, it shows that between 1990 and 2006 many pollutants that impact on air quality have fallen, the CO2 and dioxins are on the rise.
(Edie - Environmental Data Interactive Exchange)
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