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The Ireland country profile provides a concise overview of key trends across three dimensions: environment and climate; socio-economic change; and system change (energy, mobility and food) in the country. It highlights the main developments and challenges in these areas, including measures to support progress towards sustainability in Ireland. An assessment for each of the three dimensions was prepared by national experts from the European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet) in Ireland, based on 20 established indicators from the EEA or Eurostat.

Ireland’s population has more than doubled in the last 50 years, reaching 5.3 million, and the country has made substantial economic progress. Ireland’s Well-being Framework shows positive results in most facets of society, including health and well-being and income and wealth. However, the environment, climate and biodiversity dimension performed poorly.

Ireland’s air quality is among Europe’s best and meets EU standards. In 2023, Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were below the 1990 baseline for the first time; however, projections show that Ireland will fall short of its 42% reduction target for 2030. In recent years, water quality in Ireland has remained static, with persistent pressures primarily from agriculture, hydromorphology, forestry and sewage discharges. Ireland’s economy remains substantively linear, marked by material overconsumption, increasing waste volumes and reliance on waste exports. Biodiversity remains under threat and the state of nature is very poor. Food systems are not currently meeting sustainability targets, although positive actions are being implemented at the farm level. A rapid increase in electricity generation from renewables and early signs of increases in public transport use indicate that progress is being made.

Ireland needs to speed up the transformation of its energy, transport, food and industrial systems to become more sustainable. In this context, Ireland has set a national objective to transition to a climate-resilient, biodiversity-rich, environmentally sustainable and climate-neutral economy by 2050.

1Environment and climate2Socio-economic change3System change
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Summary assessment

Ireland’s State of the Environment Report 2024 highlights the key challenges and actions, which are summarised below.

  • Climate. Progress has been made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening governance, but the overall assessment reveals a poor situation. Full implementation of the national Climate Action Plan is crucial to meet 2030 and 2050 targets.
  • Air quality. Ireland’s air quality is among the best in Europe and meets current EU air quality standards for many pollutants, including NO2 and particulate matter. It does not currently meet WHO guidelines for several pollutants. Ireland’s Clean Air Strategy sets out actions to comply with WHO guidelines by 2040.
  • Nature. The assessment of nature is very poor, with 85% of Ireland’s protected habitats and almost one third of protected species of flora and fauna having an unfavourable status. Over half of native plant species are in decline and more than 50 bird species are of high conservation concern. Significant measures are needed to address declines.
  • Water. The water quality assessment is poor, with no net improvement in river or lake quality and pressures related to agriculture, hydromorphology, forestry and urban sewage discharges. Compliance with EU obligations remains a challenge.
  • Circular economy and waste. The assessment is poor, with increasing waste generation and reliance on export markets. Urgent improvements are needed to meet 2025 recycling targets.

The report emphasises the need to speed up the transformation of the energy, transport, food and industrial systems to become more sustainable. Scaled-up investment in water, energy, transport and waste management infrastructure to address the significant environmental challenges is essential to meet the demands of Ireland’s growing economy and population. The role of land use in making the necessary transitions and the need for an integrated view of land across all the social, economic and legislative demands are critical to meet national and EU targets.

In the past 50 years, quality of life in Ireland has been dramatically enhanced, and at the same time the nation and economy have prospered. However, this success has been heavily dependent on environmental resources. It is imperative that substantial investments are made in key infrastructure to prioritise environmental protection as a cornerstone of future development.

Ireland’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita recorded in 2022 was 290.2% of the equivalent EU per capita value, the highest since Ireland joined the EU in 1973. Increasing exports, higher personal consumption and a rapid increase in investment have contributed to increased economic activity.

Ireland’s well-being framework aims to provide a holistic view of societal progress, focusing on quality of life, sustainability and equality. In the most recent annual analysis, the environment, climate and biodiversity dimension (1 of 11 dimensions analysed) was the only one with a negative overall performance, with poor performance in all four dimension indicators (pollution/grime, waterbody quality, GHG emissions and waste generated). Overall, Ireland performs very favourably in comparison with international peers, in particular in knowledge and skills, social connections and community, and work/job quality.

Ireland’s population has increased from fewer than 3 million 50 years ago to over 5 million in the most recent census. Life expectancy grew from 71 years in 1971 to 82 years in 2022. The number of people enrolled in tertiary education grew sevenfold over a similar time frame, and public expenditure on tertiary education is above the EU average.

Direct fossil fuel subsidies were estimated at EUR 300 million/year on average for 2017–2021. Additional subsidies were introduced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as fossil fuel prices soared. While higher fossil fuel prices have the greatest impact on poor people, the percentage of households experiencing energy poverty in Ireland in 2022 was 7.2%, below the EU average (9.3%). However, removal of fossil fuel subsidies is essential to move away from heavily polluting fuels and towards more sustainably fuelled systems.

In the 8th Environment Action Programme progress report, Ireland ranked bottom among Member States for expenditure on environmental protection as a percentage of GDP in 2021. The EU average was 2.2 of GDP and Ireland’s expenditure was 0.9% of GDP.

In a recent climate study, 79% of Irish people said climate change should be a high / very high priority for government. Additionally, Irish people think that climate action will increase economic growth and create jobs (56%) and that actions to reduce climate change will improve quality of life (74%).

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The food system

Agrifood is Ireland’s oldest and largest indigenous exporting sector, exporting to 180 countries. It includes farming, fishing, forestry and food and beverage manufacturing. In 2023, exports were valued at EUR 18.14 billion, over 9% of Ireland’s total merchandise exports. Approximately 90% of Irish beef, sheepmeat and dairy are exported. The sector employs 171 000 people across 135 000 farms, 2 000 fishing vessels and 2 200 food enterprises, managing 4.5 million ha of agricultural land and 808 848 ha of forestry, highlighting its economic, social and environmental importance.

In Ireland, agricultural emissions represent 38% of GHG emissions (34% including LULUCF), significantly higher than the EU average of just over 10%. The agrifood sector is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including changes in rainfall, extreme weather events and rising temperatures, and will need to adapt to become more resilient and reduce its contribution to climate change.

Ireland’s food systems are not currently meeting sustainability targets and need urgent transformational change. There are many plans and programmes in place, with positive actions being implemented at farm scale, but there is no clear evidence that the current measures will collectively achieve the scale of environmental outcomes needed. The intensification of livestock farming in response to ambitious growth policies has contributed to increased environmental degradation. Over the last decade, there has been an increase in GHG emissions, air pollution, water pollution from agricultural run-off and leaching, and habitat destruction. There are currently 1 023 waterbodies for which agriculture has been identified as a significant pressure. However, an early insights indicator report showed an overall average decrease in nitrogen concentration levels in selected river sites.

Ireland has committed in legislation to a target of climate neutrality by 2050. The Food Vision strategy has the objective of achieving a climate-neutral food system by 2050, with verifiable progress by 2030, encompassing emissions, biodiversity and water quality, and other targets for forestry, fisheries, organic farming and food waste.

Various initiatives are actively promoting sustainable agriculture by incentivising farms to adopt environmentally friendly practices. These include:

  • the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (2023), part of the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan, backed by EUR 1.5 billion of funding;
  • multiple European Innovation Partnership and LIFE projects, including the EUR 60 million Farming for Water European Innovation Partnership;
  • the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advice Programme, which is free, confidential and voluntary;
  • the Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc) Signpost Programme, supported by 30 companies and organisations.

Ireland generated approximately 750 000 t of food waste in 2022, which is slightly above the EU average for food waste per capita. However, in the latest Eurobarometer survey, Irish people showed significantly more concern about food waste than other Europeans.

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The energy system

Population growth, economic growth and rising standards of living over the past 50 years have all contributed to increasing Ireland’s demands for heating, transport and electricity. Ireland has primarily met these growing demands by using more coal and peat initially, then oil (petrol, diesel and kerosene), followed by natural gas and more recently wind power. Ireland has made progress in transforming the electricity system through the deployment of wind farms, with renewable energy currently providing more than 40% of the electricity used. Energy supply and demand is undergoing accelerated changes driven by climate ambitions, economic trends including the development of the digital economy, and geopolitical instability.

The policy responses that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting increases in energy prices highlighted Ireland’s dependency on imported fossil fuels and the need to improve energy security. This further emphasised the urgency of accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels and towards using cleaner and more renewable energy sources to support decarbonisation, protect against volatile energy prices and secure future energy supply.

Ireland has set targets to increase electricity generated from renewable sources to 80%, including 9 GW of onshore wind, 8 GW of solar and at least 5 GW of offshore wind by 2030. However, electricity represents only one fifth of Ireland’s energy use, and Ireland’s transport and heating systems remain heavily reliant on fossil fuel systems, with lock-ins that need to be addressed.

Some progress has been made in the heating and transport energy systems, including the upgrading of existing buildings through retrofitting, biofuel blending in transport and increased sales of electric vehicles. Policy changes relating to new buildings through building regulations include the addition of the Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) standard.

Ireland’s Climate Change Assessment (ICCA) report highlights that well-established options can significantly move Ireland’s energy decarbonisation forward and these need to be implemented now. These options include demand reduction, electrification, deployment of market-ready renewables and low-carbon heating options. The report highlights the remaining uncertainty regarding the full scale and mix of specific future technologies to help bring the sector to net-zero emissions.

The transition requires not only technological changes but also systemic changes across society and the economy. Continuing this substantial progress is a critical element in Ireland achieving net zero. Renewable fuels such as solid, liquid and gaseous forms of bioenergy and hydrogen will be needed in sectors not currently suited to electrification, such as heavy goods transport and some sectors of industry, and to balance an electricity grid based on variable renewable electricity technologies.

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The mobility system

Ireland has one of the fastest-growing populations in the EU and as a consequence the demand for public transport and the volume of road traffic are increasing to record levels. Car travel is still the predominant mode of transport in Ireland. However, the level of car ownership is 458 cars per 1 000 people, 16% lower than the EU average. By February 2025, electric vehicles accounted for 6% of the passenger car fleet.

Public transport use aligns with the EU average, with a stable reliance on buses and trains. Among tertiary education students, the bus is the most common mode of travel to their institution (25%). These trends may suggest a gradual shift away from cars and an increasing preference for sustainable transport among the younger population. In addition, preliminary 2023 figures show that more than 308 million passenger journeys were made by public transport, marking a 24% rise in passenger numbers compared with 2022, and a 5% increase beyond the previous record (2019). Compared with other Member States, Ireland’s road freight transport activity in 2022 was at the lower end, at 12.36 billion transport kilometres (tkm). The volume of goods handled by rail – 76 million tkm – is the lowest among European countries with an operational rail network.

The first revision of the national planning framework places a greater focus on compact growth and transport-orientated development, with co-benefits of improved air quality and assistance to meet climate targets.

he 2025 Climate Action Plan sets significant targets, including a 50% increase in daily active travel journeys, a 130% increase in daily public transport journeys and a 20% reduction in total vehicle-kilometres travelled by 2030. The plan also sets a target for 30% of the private vehicle fleet to be electric by 2030.

In the past four years, there has been a significant increase in sustainable mobility policies, plans and strategies at the national and regional levels (some detailed below). The National Transport Authority (NTA), through its Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, is delivering new rural bus services in towns and villages, with approximately one new service every week. Micromobility (e-scooters, e-bikes and bicycles) has been rolled out in many towns and cities, offering a promising solution for sustainable transport[6]. The Active Travel Investment Programme delivered 600 km of walking and cycling paths nationwide between 2020 and 2022, with over 1 200 projects progressed or delivered. Pedestrian plans have been established for the five main cities, with more to follow for regional centres in the coming years.

In the last four or five years, investment has ramped up, with a number of rail projects in planning phases since 2022, and an increase in rail services on existing rail lines. The All-Island Strategic Rail Review undertaken by the Department of Transport in cooperation with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland recommends 32 strategies to enhance and expand Ireland’s rail system on the island of Ireland by 2050, supporting net-zero targets.

In summary, while progress is being made, limitations include concerns about charging capacity for private cars and heavy goods vehicles, and delays in the delivery of public transport infrastructure. These, coupled with projected population growth, may hinder the substantial decarbonisation of the sector by the end of this decade.