IRELAND IS not making enough headway in meeting the huge challenges posed by climate change, water quality and waste management, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Dr Mary Kelly, the agency's director general, yesterday made her strongest appeal to date for environmental considerations to be "mainstreamed" into all major policy objectives.
In its "state of the environment" report, Ireland's Environment 2008, published yesterday, the first such report for four years, the EPA concludes that Ireland's overall environmental quality is good.
However, Dr Kelly warned that greenhouse emissions would exceed the target for 2020 by seven million tonnes, even if many additional measures were introduced to lower emissions over and above those in the current climate change strategy.
The target for emissions by that date is 38 million tonnes.
Dr Kelly also said the target set by the EU to divert municipal waste away from landfills by 2020 would be missed by 800,000 tonnes.
"We are not progressing at the rate we need to. We have challenges on climate change, we have challenges on water quality and we have challenges on waste," she said.
She pointed out that missing the targets would result in multimillion euro bills for carbon credits, which must be purchased to offset the amounts by which Ireland exceeds its targets under the Kyoto Protocol.
Minister for the Environment and Green Party leader John Gormley, who launched the report yesterday, said no Government decision had been taken about purchasing extra carbon credits at this stage.
"We have a choice between additional measures and purchasing extra credits, or getting a balance between the two. We have to look at the situation and see if we can get additional measures," he said.
Mr Gormley criticised the purchase of carbon credits as "dead money" but acknowledged they would have to play a role in the Government's climate change strategy.
He said the only question that remained was how many would have to be purchased for Ireland to meet its obligations. He also hinted that the carbon budget next Wednesday, to be announced on the day after Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan's main budget, would focus to a significant degree on transport, suggesting measures to encourage commuters away from private cars.
"The problematic areas are agriculture and transport. I hope we can get additional measures in relation to transport, to launch a sustainable policy. That means extra buses and better facilities for cyclists and all that leads to reductions in emissions," he said.
A spokesman for Mr Gormley said the Minister had raised the issue of moving Ireland to a low-carbon economy with Taoiseach Brian Cowen on a number of occasions.
"It takes time for the effect of any measure that's been announced to be seen," he said. "No country in the world has found a silver bullet. It cannot be changed by the flick of a switch or by dramatic change."
Mr Gormley has already indicated that a carbon levy is unlikely to be introduced this year. However, the Green Party in government is confident that budgetary measures next week will address the issue.