This document discusses Ireland's green economy from an environmental economics perspective. It examines Ireland's priorities around issues like water quality and pollution reduction. It also analyzes Ireland's role in climate change mitigation through decarbonizing sectors like agriculture and shifting to services. The author argues that environmental policy should aim to meet objectives at minimum cost and that uncompetitive policies may do more harm than good by killing jobs. Credible, coordinated global solutions are needed to address climate change.
ICT role in 21st century education and its challenges
The Green Economy, An Irish Perspective
1. The Green Economy:
An Irish Perspective
John FitzGerald
The Economic and Social research Institute
www.esri.ie
2. Introduction
Environmental economics research
EPA supported
Irish environmental priorities
Water, Other Pollutants, etc.
Climate Change
Decarbonising? Agriculture?
Green Economy
Value for money
3. Water
Priorities since 1990?
Urban waste water directive etc.
Delivering a clean supply of water efficiently
Water utility – to cut costs
Water utility – to deliver investment
Water utility – to improve state’s balance sheet
Water utility – to manage funding
4. Environmental Priorities
Many objectives
Managing priorities
Sustainable living
Commuting and spatial patterns
STRIVE research
Sulphur dioxide etc.
A success
Health implications?
5. Commuting
Household Car
Emissions CO2
Source: Census -
POWCARS
Car CO2 0.09 - 0.12
Commuting 0.13 - 0.42
0.00 - 0.05 0.43 - 13.87
0.06 - 0.08
ESRI: ISUS model
6. SO2 emissions, historical and projected
200 200
Residential
180 180
Transport
Services
160 160 Construction
Fuel, power, water
140 140 Other manufacturing
Tranport equipment
120 120 Electrical goods
Office equipment
000 t SO2
Machinery
100 100
Metal production
Mineral production
80 80 Rubber & plastic
Chemicals
60 60 Pulp & paper
Target Wood
40 40 Textiles
Food
Mining
20 20
Agriculture
0 0
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
ESRI: ISUS model
7. Climate Change
Europe is burdened by debt
Successful policy needs competitive solutions
Uncertainty for investors if policy not credible
Problems with uncoordinated national policies
Global solutions needed
Ireland decarbonising by shift to services in output
Ireland decarbonising by importing dirty
consumption
Problem of agriculture
8. Low carbon in what sense?
Attribution of CO2 emissions by demand, plus imports
80
Imports
Inventories
70 Investment
Government
60 Charity
Households
50 Exports
40
mln tCO2
30
20
10
0
-10
1990 1995 2000 2005
-20
8
Source: ESRI/EPA ISus model; Hertwich & Peters, 2009 (43) Env Sci Tech.
10. Green Jobs?
Environmental policy: how to meet our
environmental objectives at minimum cost
Energy policy is about ensuring secure and
sustainable energy supply at minimum cost
If it produces jobs, so much the better
Paying too high a price for energy / environment
will kill many more jobs than it creates
Problem – jobs killed by uncompetitive policy not
so visible
11. Environmental Policy
Get Prices right
E.g. Sustainable living
Regulation
E.g. Pollution of rivers
Technical change needed
R&D Incentivised by prices.
Credibility of policy – ETS: uncertain price & windfall gains
Non-ETS
EU uses A model to allocate burden
If wrong: Potential huge costs and transfers
Major Problem for Ireland AND EU - agriculture