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Drained peatlands are significant hotspots of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and may also be more vulnerable to fire with its associated gaseous emissions. Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from peatlands managed for extraction are reported on an annual basis. However, the Tier 1 (default) emission factors (EFs) provided in the IPCC 2013 Wetlands Supplement for this land use category may not be representative in all cases and countries are encouraged to move to higher Tier reporting levels with reduced uncertainty levels based on country or regional specific data. In this study, we quantified (1) CO2-C emissions from 9 peat extraction sites in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, which were initially disaggregated by land use type (industrial vs. domestic peat extraction), and (2) a range of GHGs that are released to the atmosphere with the burning of peat. CO2-C emissions were strongly controlled by soil temperature at the industrial sites (bare peat), and by soil temperature and leaf area index at the vegetated domestic sites. Our derived EFs of 1.70 (±0.47) and 1.64 (±0.44) tCO2-C ha-1 yr-1 for the industrial and domestic sites respectively, are considerably lower than the Tier 1 EF (2.8 ±1.7 tCO2-C ha-1 yr-1) provided in the Wetlands Supplement. We propose that the difference between our derived values and the Wetlands Supplement value is due to differences in peat quality and, consequently, decomposition rates. Emissions from burning of the peat (g kg-1 dry fuel burned) were estimated to be approximately 1346 (CO2), 8.35 (methane, CH4), 218 (carbon monoxide, CO), 1.53 (ethane, C2H6), 1.74 (ethylene, C2H4), 0.60 (methanol, CH3OH), 2.21 (hydrogen cyanide, HCN) and 0.73 (ammonia, NH3) and emphasises the importance of understanding the full suite of trace gas emissions from biomass burning, rather than focussing solely on CO2 and CH4 emissions. Our results highlight the importance of generating reliable Tier 2 values for different regions and land-use categories. Furthermore, given that the IPCC Tier 1 EF was only based on 20 sites (all from Canada/Fenno-Scandia) we suggest that data from another 9 sites significantly expands the global dataset, as well as adding a new region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the efforts to transition to a low carbon economy, greenhouse gas emissions are surging to critical levels. Carbon dioxide removals (CDR) methods, such as direct air capture (DAC), have been gaining substantial public attention in the last few years. DAC is essential in curbing CO2 concentrations and achieving climate targets. It is said that DAC can be deployed at anywhere, but a throughout life cycle assessment (LCA) is imperative to prove its viability. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the feasibility of constructing a 1 MT CO 2 plant in Ireland, using Kinsale and Corrib gas fields as storage points. The results showed that the country is an ideal candidate for scaling up this emerging industry. The efficiency is primarily influenced by the construction of the pipeline section, given a reliable sources of heat and electricity. The study highlights the significant impact of distances to the storage points on feasibility, favouring counties near of the gas fields. In conclusion, Ireland has the potential to establish its own DAC industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a reflective method to gather findings with relation to a collaborative governance approach for the sociotechnical transition to a low carbon society in a regional context. As top-down and bottom-up approaches to sustainable transitions have proven insufficient in bringing about the necessary changes required to meet the demands of climate action, more collaborative approaches between local communities, national public bodies and research organisations are warranted. Within this, there is a need to understand the dynamics of collaborative governance for participants in the process. Through a process of reflective practice, this paper outlines the networks, personal capacities, organisational capacities, benefits and challenges of collaborative governance partnerships for sustainable transitions from the perspective of individuals within a collaborative committee working on a regional transition project on the Dingle Peninsula, Co Kerry, Ireland. Alongside this, some solutions to challenges outlined through reflection are highlighted. This research paper highlights the need for the incorporation of reflective practice within collaborative governance for the socio-technical transition to a low-carbon society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings are responsible for around 30 to 40% of the energy demand and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in European countries. Building stock energy models (BSEMs) are an established method to assess the energy demand and environmental impact of building stocks. Spatial analysis of building stock energy demand has so far been limited to cases where detailed, building specific data is available. This paper introduces two approaches of using synthetic building stock energy modelling (SBSEM) to model spatially distributed synthetic building stocks based on aggregate data. The two approaches build on different types of data that are implemented and validated for two separate case studies in Ireland and Austria. The results demonstrate the feasibility of both approaches to accurately reproduce the spatial distribution of the building stocks of the two cases. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that by using a SBSEM approach, a spatial analysis for building stock energy demand can be carried out for cases where no building level data is available and how these results may be used in energy planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the evolution of eco-efficiency for the 27 European Union (EU) countries over the period 2008-2018, provided the traditional high concerns of the EU concerning the economic growth-environmental performance relationship. The EU has triggered several initiatives and regulations regarding environmental protection over the years, but as well the Sustainable Development Goals demand it. Under this setting, we conduct a two-stage analysis, which computes eco-efficiency scores in the first stage for each of the pairs EU 27-year, through the nonparametric method data envelopment analysis (DEA), considering the ratio GDP per capita and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). In the second stage, scores are used as a dependent variable in the proposed fractional regression model (FRM), whose determinants considered were eight pollutants (three greenhouse gases and five atmospheric pollutants). CO 2 /area and N 2 O/area effects are negative and significant, improving the eco-efficiency of the EU 27 countries. When the efficient European countries are excluded from the estimations, the results evidence that CO 2 /area and CH 4 /area decrease the DEA score. The country with the lowest GHG emissions and pollutant gases was Ireland, being the country within the considered period that mostly reduced emissions, particularly SOx and PM10, increasing its score.

The current conventional approach to determining the primary energy associated with non-combustible renewable energy (RE) sources such as wind energy and hydro power is to equate the electricity generated from these sources with the primary energy supply. This paper compares this with an approach that was formerly used by the IEA, in which the primary energy equivalent attributed to renewable energy was equated with the fossil fuel energy it displaces. Difficulties with implementing this approach in a meaningful way for international comparisons lead to most international organisations abandoning the primary energy equivalent methodology. It has recently re-emerged in prominence however, as efforts grow to develop baseline procedures for quantifying the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoided by renewable energy within the context of the Kyoto Protocol credit trading mechanisms. This paper discusses the primary energy equivalent approach and in particular the distinctions between displacing fossil fuel energy in existing plant or in new plant. The approach is then extended provide insight into future primary energy displacement by renewable energy and to quantify the amount of CO 2 emissions avoided by renewable energy. The usefulness of this approach in quantifying the benefits of renewable energy is also discussed in an energy policy context, with regard to increasing security of energy supply as well as reducing energy-related GHG (and other) emissions. The approach is applied in a national context and Ireland is case study country selected for this research. The choice of Ireland is interesting in two respects. The first relates to the high proportion of electricity only fossil fuel plants in Ireland resulting in a significant variation between primary energy and primary energy equivalent. The second concerns Ireland's poor performance to date in limiting GHG emissions in line with its Kyoto target and points to the need for techniques to quantify the potential contribution of renewable energy in achieving the target set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Ireland, agriculture accounts for 33% of national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Ireland faces significant challenges in terms of emissions reduction and is well off course in terms of meeting binding European Union targets. Flexibility mechanisms will allow Ireland to offset 5.6% of its commitment via sequestration in biomass and soils and land use change. Agricultural emissions in Ireland are largely driven by livestock production. As such, the purpose of this research is to estimate the net GHG emission benefit resulting from a land use change with forest replacing livestock systems (dairy, beef cattle and sheep). We estimate the total carbon sequestration in biomass and harvested wood products, along with the total emissions avoided from each livestock system on a per hectare basis. In addition, the paper compares the social cost of carbon to the average income per hectare of each livestock system. Finally, a hypothetical national planting scenario is modelled using plausible planting rates. Results indicate that the greatest carbon benefit is achieved when forest replaces dairy production. This is due to high emissions per hectare from dairy systems, and greater sequestration potential in higher-yielding forests planted on better quality soils associated with dairy production. The inclusion of harvested wood products in subsequent rotations has the potential to enhance GHG mitigation and offset terrestrial carbon loss. A hypothetical national planting scenario, afforesting 100,000 ha substituting dairy, beef cattle and sheep livestock systems could abate 13.91 Mt CO 2 e after 10 years, and 150.14 Mt CO 2 e (unthinned plantations) or 125.89 Mt CO 2 e (thinned plantations) over the course of the rotation. These results highlight the critical role for forest land use change in meeting the urgent need to tackle rising agricultural emissions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

• We used disparate data in a decision tree to refine the mapping of Irish peat soils. • Peat Associated Landcover Class concept was applied to locate converted peatlands. • Shallow peat soils ≥ 10 cm were included in the new Irish Peat Soils Map (IPSM). • The IPSM shows a larger peat area than previous peat maps and accuracies ≥ 74 %. • The Adaptative Mapping Framework implemented can be applied in other regions. Accurate mapping for effective management of peat soils is necessary to help reduce GHG emissions and improve environmental quality. However, mapping remains a major challenge as definitions of peat soils vary substantially between jurisdictions and organizations, while field data are sparse and difficult to produce, and remote sensing of limited use for converted peatlands. Using an Adaptive Mapping Framework, this paper compiles disparate data sources to update the Derived Irish Peat Map to better facilitate its application for environmental issues. This includes incorporation of areas considered to be underlain by shallow peat soils (≥ 10 cm and ≥ 8.6 % Organic Matter content), and augmentation of the overall test dataset with an additional ∼ 20,000 points. The workflow for map generation employed 20 Decision Tree Output Maps (DTOMs), aggregated into 33 Map Combinations (MCs). These facilitated the addition of new areas and removal of areas where the presence of peat could not be confidently identified. The MC selected for the update had the highest accuracy metrics (≥ 74 %), consisting of DTOMs with a user accuracy ≥ 66 % and assessed over a minimum number of test points ≥ 50. The resulting map reveals peat to underlie 1.66 M ha of Ireland (∼ 23.3 % of the country), identified with values of 83 % for overall accuracy and F1 score for peat areas. This extent is 13.2 % larger than that delineated in previous versions and at least 23.2 % larger than areas presented in other previous maps. The methodology also allows transparency from which data sources can be distinguished to define different key peat thickness ranges (≥ 10 cm, ≥ 30–40 cm), better facilitating assessment of environmental impacts arising from land use change. This approach has potential relevance for peat mapping globally, notably in areas containing disparate datasets (e.g., land cover, soil map, etc.), or employing different production methods. The accuracy metrics generated also suggest that the approach can be used as a basis for implementing or updating national and international regulations concerning carbon-rich soils in comparable settings to those encountered in Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing food production to meet rising global demand while minimising negative environmental impacts such as agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is one of the greatest challenges facing the agri-food sector. Sustainable food production relates not only to primary production, but also has wider value chain implications. An input-output (IO) model is a modelling framework which contains information on the flow of goods and services across a value chain at a regional or national economy level. This paper provides a detailed description of the development of a Bioeconomy IO (BIO) model which is disaggregated across the subs-sectors of the agri-food value chain and environmentally extended (EE) to examine environmental outputs, including GHG emissions, We focus on Ireland, where emissions from agriculture comprise 33% of national GHG emissions and where there has been a major expansion and transformation in agriculture supported by national and EU policy. In a substantial Annex to this paper, we describe the modelling assumptions made in developing the BIO model. Breaking up the value chain into components, we find that most value is generated at the processing stage of the value chain, with greater processing value in more sophisticated value chains such as dairy processing. On the other hand, emissions are in general highest in primary production, albeit emissions from purchased animal feed are higher for poultry than for other value chains, given the lower animal based emissions from poultry than from cows or sheep. The level of disaggregation also shows that the sub-sectors are themselves discrete value chains. The analysis highlights that emissions per unit of output are much higher for beef and sheep meat value chains than for pig and poultry. The analysis facilitated by the BIO model also allows for the mapping of emissions along the agri-food value chain using the adapted IO EE approach. Such analysis is valuable in identifying emissions 'hot-spots' along the value chains and analysing potential avenues for emission efficiencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of gas emissions by an input-output subsystem approach provides detailed insights into pollution generation in an economy, by revealing the channels by which the environmental burdens are caused and transmitted throughout the production system. In this paper we propose a decomposition of the greenhouse gas emissions by using an input-output subsystems model. The empirical application is for the Irish economy, and the economic and environmental data are for the year 2005. Our results show that large asymmetries exist not only in the quantitative contribution of the different activities to greenhouse gas emissions, but also in the decomposed effects of this contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy-Duty Vehicles (HDVs) pose a significant challenge in meeting emissions reduction targets. However, studies on estimating emissions from Irish HDV fleet are rare. This paper estimates fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions from tractor-trailers that occupy nearly half of Ireland's HDV fleet using the European Commission recommended VECTO tool. To improve the estimation accuracy, driving cycles specific to Irish road conditions were developed utilising real naturalistic driving data from trucks. The Irish driving cycles significantly differ from the VECTO inbuilt driving cycles in percentage time spent in different gears, fuel consumption, and CO 2 emissions. CO 2 emissions estimated with Irish driving cycles range from 733 to 1961 g/km, while with VECTO driving cycles, the values ranged from 728 to 1865 g/km. Further, the study evaluated the sensitivity towards payload, road gradient, and idling percentages. The study insights would provide an essential evidence base for policymakers in Ireland. [Display omitted] • Developed Irish urban, regional, and freeway driving cycles. • Employed the VECTO tool to assess CO 2 emissions from Irish heavy-duty vehicle fleet. • Focused on tractor-trailers with a major share in the Irish fleet. • Evaluated the effect of idling, gradient, and payload on CO 2 emissions. • Fuel consumption is underestimated by up to 7.1% when the road gradient is ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike most developed countries, agriculture is the greatest single source of greenhouse gases in Ireland and accounts for approximately one-third of the national emissions. In this paper, the future emissions of greenhouse gases from Irish agriculture are projected using an economic model of the Irish agricultural sector. Coefficients from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are used to convert the raw agricultural data from the economic model to emission levels. These projections are generated under two different scenarios: the first is a baseline result, which holds the present agricultural policy environment – the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) – constant for the projection period. The second result is the projection of emissions under a particular policy reform scenario. The effect of this scenario on emissions is measured relative to the baseline result. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feeding the world's population while minimising the contribution of agriculture to climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing modern society. This challenge is particularly pronounced for dairy production where the carbon footprint of products and the mitigation costs are high, relative to other food stuffs. This paper reviews a number of mitigation measures that may be adopted by dairy farmers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their farms. A simulation model is developed to assess the cost-benefit of a range of mitigation measures. The model is applied to data from Ireland, a country with a large export-oriented dairy industry, for a range of farms including top, middle and bottom performing farms from a profitability perspective. The mitigation measures modelled included animal productivity, grass production and utilisation, better reproductive performance, early compact calving, reduced crude protein, decreased fertiliser N, protected urea, white clover, slurry tank cover and low emission slurry spreading (LESS). The results show that over half of the greenhouse gas abatement potential and most of the ammonia abatement potential were realised with cost-beneficial measures. Animal and feed-related measures that increased efficiency drove the abatement of GHG emissions. Low-emission slurry spreading was beneficial for the bottom and middle one-third of farms, while protected urea and reducing nitrogen use accounted for most of the ammonia abatement potential for the most profitable farms. Results showed that combining mitigation measures resulted in a decrease of 23%, 19%, and 12% in GHG emissions below 2020 levels for the bottom, middle, and top performing dairy farms, respectively. The findings imply that top dairy farms, that are already managed efficiently and optimally, may struggle to achieve the national and international GHG reduction targets with existing technologies and practices. • The top dairy group may struggle to achieve the 2030 and future GHG reductions targets with existing technologies and practices • 56%–86% of emissions reduction achieved through mitigation measures that were cost effective, net-zero for all three groups • Farm-level MACCs can account for variability in GHG and NH3 mitigation potentials and costs, that are often missed at the sectoral or country level. • The study found that combining mitigation measures resulted in a decrease of 23%, 19%, and 12% in GHG emissions below 2020 levels for the bottom, middle, and top dairy groups, respectively • Farm-level marginal abatement cost curve (MACC) are useful for understanding the capacity to reduce gaseous emissions from specific agricultural systems or farms [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: National outlooks of emission levels are important components of international environmental policymaking and associated national policy development. This is the case for both greenhouse gas emissions and transboundary air pollutants. However, there is uncertainty inherent in the production of forecasts. In the climate context, IPCC guidelines have been established to support national teams in quantifying uncertainty within national inventory reporting of historic emissions. These are presented to indicate the potential range of deviation from reported values and to offer added evidence for policy decisions. However, the method and practice of accounting for uncertainty amongst emission forecasts is both less clear and less common. This paper posits that the role of forecasts in setting international targets and planning policy action renders the management of ‘forecast’ uncertainty as important as addressing uncertainty in the context of inventory and compliance work. Failure to explicitly present uncertainty in forecasting delivers an implicit and misplaced confidence in a given future scenario, irrespective of parallel work on other scenarios and sensitivities. However, it is acknowledged that approaches to uncertainty analyses within the literature are often highly technical and the models used are both computationally demanding and time-intensive. This can limit broader adoption where national capacities are limited and scenario development is frequent. This paper describes an approach to presenting uncertainty, where the aim is to balance the technical and temporal demands of uncertainty estimation against a means of delivering regular and practical estimation and presentation of uncertainty for any given scenario. In turn this methodology should help formalise the recognition of the uncertainty dimension in emissions forecasts, for all stakeholders engaged. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Turbulent and radiative energy exchanges between lakes and the atmosphere play an important role in determining the process of lake‐mixing and stratification, including how lakes respond to climate and to climate change. Here we used a one‐dimensional hydrodynamic lake model to assess seasonal impacts of climate change on individual surface heat flux components in Lough Feeagh, Ireland, a deep, monomictic lake. We drove the lake model with an ensemble of outputs from four climate models under three future greenhouse gas scenarios from 1976 to 2099. In these experiments, the results showed significant increases in the radiative budget that were largely counteracted by significant increases in the turbulent fluxes. The combined change in the individual surface heat fluxes led to a change in the total surface heat flux that was small, but sufficient to lead to significant changes in the volume‐weighted average lake temperature. The largest projected changes in total surface heat fluxes were in spring and autumn. Both spring heating and autumnal cooling significantly decreased under future climate conditions, while changes to total surface heat fluxes in winter and summer were an order of magnitude lower. This led to counter‐intuitive results that, in a warming world, there would be less heat not more entering Lough Feeagh during the springtime, and little change in net heating over the summer or winter compared to natural climate conditions, projected increases in the volume‐weighted average lake temperature were found to be largely due to reduced heat loss during autumn. Plain Language Summary: The exchange of energy between the lake and the atmosphere is important to understand how atmospheric forcing affects the vertical thermal structure of lakes, especially in an era of climate change. Here, we perform a lake model experiment to better understand how surface heat fluxes in Lough Feeagh (Ireland) will respond to future greenhouse gas emissions. Our results suggest that surface heat fluxes will change substantially in the future as a result of the changes in the atmospheric forcing. Lake heating by net radiative fluxes will increase and will be nearly offset by lake heat loss trough turbulent fluxes increase. This small positive imbalance in surface heat fluxes will lead to an increase in lake water temperature. On a seasonal scale, spring and autumn will show the largest changes in net surface heat flux, both the spring heating and autumnal cooling will decrease, while summer and winter will show very little change in net surface heat flux. This leads to the counter‐intuitive results that in a warming world there will be less heat, not more, entering Lough Feeagh during the spring, and that decreased heat loss during autumn will be largely responsible for the long‐term changes in lake water temperature. Key Points: Future projections of surface heat fluxes in Lough Feeagh under different emission scenariosSignificant increases in the annual mean radiative balance were largely offset by significant increases in the annual mean turbulent fluxesBoth spring heating and autumnal cooling significantly decreased under future climate conditions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased use of renewable energy is a major part of Ireland's plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, lessen reliance on fossil fuels, and enable sustainable economic growth. Two forms of renewable energy interesting Irish policymakers are bioenergy and solar PV. To scale up these technologies, land will be required to grow bioenergy feedstocks and erect ground mount solar PV arrays. A micro, farm-based approach is utilised to generate private returns from renewable energy production, and agriculture, adjusted for the cost of GHGs. This considers both the cost to society of increasing GHG emissions and the benefit of reducing emissions. This paper compares income that could be derived from renewable energy production with average agricultural income from the main farm systems in Ireland. The private (market and subsidy) and social (GHG) return from substituting renewable energy sources for the existing agricultural land use on 1 ha is considered. We also use input-output modelling to generate output multipliers for renewable energy technologies: biogas, biomethane, short rotation coppice (SRC) willow, and solar PV. The results show that the market return from growing 1 ha of grass silage and SRC willow is less than for all the main farming systems. When the social value of the feedstock is considered by putting a monetary value on displaced GHG emissions, producing grass silage and willow biomass can provide a better return to farmers than cattle and sheep farming. Due to the high land rental amounts available to farmers from solar companies, the market and social return is higher for using land to erect solar PV than any of the main agricultural activities. Results from the output multiplier analysis show that biomethane production has the highest multiplier while solar PV has the lowest. • Income from renewable energy is compared with agricultural income in Ireland. • Solar PV provides more income per hectare on average than all main farming systems. • With social value, grass/willow have better return than cattle/sheep farming. • Solar PV has lower output multiplier than biogas and biomethane production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding and communicating the environmental impacts of food products is key to enabling transitions to environmentally sustainable food systems [El Bilali and Allahyari, Inf. Process. Agric. 5, 456-464 (2018)]. While previous analyses compared the impacts of food commodities such as fruits, wheat, and beef [Poore and Nemecek, Science 360, 987-992 (2018)], most food products contain numerous ingredients. However, because the amount of each ingredient in a product is often known only by the manufacturer, it has been difficult to assess their environmental impacts. Here, we develop an approach to overcome this limitation. It uses prior knowledge from ingredient lists to infer the composition of each ingredient, and then pairs this with environmental databases [Poore and Nemecek Science 360, 987-992 (2018); Gephart et al., Nature 597, 360-365 (2021)] to derive estimates of a food product's environmental impact across four indicators: greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water stress, and eutrophication potential. Using the approach on 57,000 products in the United Kingdom and Ireland shows food types have low (e.g., sugary beverages, fruits, breads), to intermediate (e.g., many desserts, pastries), to high environmental impacts (e.g., meat, fish, cheese). Incorporating NutriScore reveals more nutritious products are often more environmentally sustainable but there are exceptions to this trend, and foods consumers may view as substitutable can have markedly different impacts. Sensitivity analyses indicate the approach is robust to uncertainty in ingredient composition and in most cases sourcing. This approach provides a step toward enabling consumers, retailers, and policy makers to make informed decisions on the environmental impacts of food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Paris Agreement commits 197 countries to achieve climate stabilisation at a global average surface temperature less than 2 ∘C above pre-industrial times using nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to demonstrate progress. Numerous industrialised economies have targets to achieve territorial climate neutrality by 2050, primarily in the form of "net zero" greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, particular uncertainty remains over the role of countries' agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sectors for reasons including the potential trade-offs between GHG mitigation and food security, a non-zero emission target for methane as a short-lived GHG, and the requirement for AFOLU to act as a net sink to offset residual emissions from other sectors. These issues are represented at a coarse level in integrated assessment models (IAMs) that indicate the role of AFOLU in global pathways towards climate stabilisation. However, there is an urgent need to determine appropriate AFOLU management strategies at a national level within NDCs. Here, we present a new model designed to evaluate detailed AFOLU scenarios at national scale using the example of Ireland, where approximately 40 % of national GHG emissions originate from AFOLU. GOBLIN (General Overview for a Backcasting approach of Livestock INtensification) is designed to run randomised scenarios of agricultural activities and land use combinations within biophysical constraints (e.g. available land area, livestock productivities, fertiliser-driven grass yields, and forest growth rates). Using AFOLU emission factors from national GHG inventory reporting, GOBLIN calculates annual GHG emissions out to the selected target year for each scenario (2050 in this case). The long-term dynamics of forestry are represented up to 2120 so that scenarios can also be evaluated against the Paris Agreement commitment to achieve a balance between emissions and removals over the second half of the 21st century. Filtering randomised scenarios according to compliance with specific biophysical definitions (GHG time series) of climate neutrality will provide scientific boundaries for appropriate long-term actions within NDCs. We outline the rationale and methodology behind the development of GOBLIN, with an emphasis on biophysical linkages across food production, GHG emissions, and carbon sinks at a national level. We then demonstrate how GOBLIN can be applied to evaluate different scenarios in relation to a few possible simple definitions of "climate neutrality", discussing opportunities and limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transport sector is a key contributor of global greenhouse gas emissions and electric vehicles have become a focus in striving to achieve decarbonisation and efficiency in the sector. This study uses a stated preference methodology, specifically choice experiments, to investigate the attitudes and preferences of potential buyers for a number of technical, environmental and policy attributes of electric vehicles in Ireland. We specifically focus on whether learning through provision of information and a brief vehicle experience affects preferences and welfare measures. Previous studies have examined the role of lengthy electric vehicle demonstration trials, for example 3 month trials, on preferences. This paper addresses a gap in the literature by considering the role of much shorter scale experience (minutes rather than months) on attitudes which more closely represents the experience that a potential purchaser will have at the point of investment. Using random parameter models, our results show that people are willing to pay more for certain technical and environmental features of electric vehicles, however, policy measures such as preferential parking rates are seen to have a non-significant effect on utility of participants. The learning process increases the significance of the environmental component, and produces significantly higher willingness to pay for increased battery range and vehicle size. • Impact of learning and short experience (minutes) on stability of preferences for electric vehicles is examined. • Participants are willing to pay a premium for larger electric vehicles with increased range and shorter charging times. • Learning and experience increase the significance of the environmental benefit of electric vehicles in decision making. • Learning and short-term experience of electric vehicles has only a small effect on preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores therelationship among farm‐level productivity growth, scale, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity during a time period of significant agricultural policy change affecting Ireland's dairy industry. Specifically, we focus on the 2015 EU milk quota abolition, which initiated major dairy expansion in Ireland. We use a representative sample of Irish dairy farms from 2000 to 2017, that includes data on farm specific GHG emissions. Based on this detailed farm level panel data set, we estimate productivity with a control function approach. We then apply fixed effects and dynamic panel data methods to explore the implications of productivity and scale on GHG emission intensity. Our findings indicate that increased productivity is negatively associated with GHG emission intensity, which changes with distinct milk quota abolition phases. Overall, our findings are important for understanding the relationship between policy reforms and GHG emissions in agriculture, and how to improve agricultural mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we use a subsystem input-output decomposition analysis to examine the drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland. We use a bi-regional input-output analysis to look at how greenhouse gases in one region can be emitted as a result of demand in an exporting region. Looking at emissions generated throughout the island of Ireland, we find that emissions driven by demand in Northern Ireland are larger than those it generates, and vice-versa for the Republic of Ireland. We then use the input-output tables to simulate the effect of imposing a €15/tonne carbon tax in the Republic of Ireland. We find that this causes a decrease in final demand in the Republic of Ireland, and a decrease in output in both the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland; the decrease is greater in the Republic as the domestically produced share of inputs is much larger than the imported share in all sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper an energy balance and a greenhouse gas profile has been formulated for the county of Wexford, situated in the south east of Ireland. The energy balance aims to aggregate all energy consumption in the county for the year 2006 across the following sectors; residential, agriculture, commerce and industry, and transport. The results of the energy balance are compared with the previous energy balance of 2001 where it is found that the residential sector is the biggest emitter of CO2 with 38% of total emissions with the transport and industry/commerce sectors sharing second place on 28%. Consumption of oil is seen to have increased significantly in nearly all sectors, accounting for over 70% of the total final energy consumed (TFC) while the total primary energy requirement (TPER) sees oil consumption accounting for 91% of all fuels consumed. To take into account the contribution of agriculture in total GHG emissions the gases CH4 and N2O will be estimated from the agricultural and waste sectors. The results show that methane contributes 25% of total GHG emissions with agriculture being the primary contributor accounting for 36% of total emissions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Irish government has outlined plans for 10% of the national road fleet to be powered by electricity by 2020. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the potential reduction in road traffic related emissions due to commuting in the Greater Dublin Area under different electric vehicle market penetration scenarios. The results indicate that the introduction of electric vehicles offers the potential for reductions in all road traffic related emissions. However, the time required for electric vehicles to acquire a significant share of the fleet, suggests that they will have a limited impact on climate change and urban air quality for at least the next decade. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The deployment of biofuels is significantly affected by policy in energy and agriculture. In the energy arena, concerns regarding the sustainability of biofuel systems and their impact on food prices led to a set of sustainability criteria in EU Directive 2009/28/EC on Renewable Energy. In addition, the 10% biofuels target by 2020 was replaced with a 10% renewable energy in transport target. This allows the share of renewable electricity used by electric vehicles to contribute to the mix in achieving the 2020 target. Furthermore, only biofuel systems that effect a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 compared with the fuel they replace are allowed to contribute to meeting the target. In the agricultural arena, cross-compliance (which is part of EU Common Agricultural Policy) dictates the allowable ratio of grassland to total agricultural land, and has a significant impact on which biofuels may be supported. This paper outlines the impact of these policy areas and their implications for the production and use of biofuels in terms of the 2020 target for 10% renewable transport energy, focusing on Ireland. The policies effectively impose constraints on many conventional energy crop biofuels and reinforce the merits of using biomethane, a gaseous biofuel. The analysis shows that Ireland can potentially satisfy 15% of renewable energy in transport by 2020 (allowing for double credit for biofuels from residues and ligno-cellulosic materials, as per Directive 2009/28/EC) through the use of indigenous biofuels: grass biomethane, waste and residue derived biofuels, electric vehicles and rapeseed biodiesel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ireland is committed to limiting its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 113% of 1990 levels over the period 2008–12 and to 84% of 2005 levels by 2020 under the Kyoto Agreement and the EU''s 2020 target by 2020 respectively. National policies have targeted many industry sectors but have failed to directly tackle GHG emissions associated with construction activity. This paper estimates energy and GHG emissions intensities of the Irish construction sector and subsectors and estimates its contribution to Irish national emissions. This information is used to identify and assess the impacts of policy measures which would result in a reduction in emissions from the sector in a cost-effective manner. Energy and emissions intensities are estimated using input–output analysis techniques applied to Irish construction sector. In 2005 the Irish construction sector was responsible for the emission of 13.81mtCO2eq, comprising 2.37mt (17%) of direct on-site emissions, 5.69mt (41%) upstream indirect domestic emissions and 5.75mt (42%) upstream indirect emissions outside the state. Domestically arising direct and indirect emissions accounted for 3.44% and 8.26% of national emissions respectively. Approximately three-quarters of construction sector emissions were the result of activities relating to NACE 45.2 ‘civil and structural construction works, etc’. Given the potential importance of the construction sector to national emissions, there is scope for the implementation of policies which specifically target it. Two such policies are proposed: direct emissions mitigation through a construction EcoDriving initiative; and the provision of information to allow the design and specification of low-emissions materials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper outlines the past analysis and projected planning of the Irish electricity generation sector using an extension of a novel methodology based on a graphical optimisation concept. The main two adaptations/extensions to the current form of the methodology are proposed as both the forecasting adaptation and the extension that accounts for the dynamic nature of electricity supply–demand. The determination of an optimal energy resource (OER) mix (or optimal fuel mix) for the sector will look to give guidelines towards fulfilling the sector''s Kyoto targets, as well as yielding a possible approach for other sectors to follow in the future. Data pertaining to the sector for the year 2005 was taken in order to illustrate the analysis and forecasting procedures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper combines life-cycle analyses and economic analyses for Miscanthus and willow heat and electricity fuel-chains in Ireland. Displaced agricultural land-uses and conventional fuels were considered in fuel-chain permutations. Avoided greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions ranged from 7.7 to 35.2tCO2 eq.ha−1 a−1. Most fuel-chain permutations exhibited positive discounted financial returns, despite losses for particular entities at a farm-gate processed-biomass price of €100t−1 dry-matter. Attributing a value of €10t−1 CO2 eq. to avoided GHG emissions, but subtracting financial returns associated with displaced fuel supplies, resulted in discounted annual national economic benefits (DANEBs) ranging from −457 to 1887€ha−1 a−1. Extrapolating a plausible combination of fuel-chains up to a national indicative scenario resulted in GHG emission avoidance of 3.56MtCO2 eq.a−1 (5.2% of national emissions), a DANEB of 167M€, and required 4.6% of national agricultural land area. As cost-effective national GHG avoidance options, Miscanthus and willow fuel-chains are robust to variation in yields and CO2 price, and appear to represent an efficient land-use option (e.g. compared with liquid biofuel production). Policies promoting utilisation of these energy-crops could avoid unnecessary, and environmentally questionable, future purchase of carbon credits, as currently required for national Kyoto compliance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents new environmental accounts for the Republic of Ireland from 1990-2005. Designed to be consistent with the national accounts, these satellite accounts cover 34 emissions and 14 resources for 19 production sectors plus households. Emissions include greenhouse gases, eutrophying and acidifying emissions, and three types of waste each divided into four dispositions. We find that some emissions such as halocarbons and carbon dioxide have grown rapidly over the period, although the main greenhouse gas emissions have grown less quickly than economic activity. Energy use as a whole has also increased. However, other emissions have declined, such as nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present Δ14CO2 observations and related greenhouse gas measurements at a background site in Ireland (Mace Head, MHD) and a tall tower site in the east of the UK (Tacolneston, TAC) that is more strongly influenced by fossil fuel sources. These observations have been used to calculate the contribution of fossil fuel sources to the atmospheric CO2 mole fractions; this can be done, as emissions from fossil fuels do not contain 14CO2 and cause a depletion in the observed Δ14CO2 value. The observations are compared to simulated values. Two corrections need to be applied to radiocarbon-derived fossil fuel CO2 (ffCO2): one for pure 14CO2 emissions from nuclear industry sites and one for a disequilibrium in the isotopic signature of older biospheric emissions (heterotrophic respiration) and CO2 in the atmosphere. Measurements at both sites were found to only be marginally affected by 14CO2 emissions from nuclear sites. Over the study period of 2014–2015, the biospheric correction and the correction for nuclear 14CO2 emissions were similar at 0.34 and 0.25 ppm ffCO2 equivalent, respectively. The observed ffCO2 at the TAC tall tower site was not significantly different from simulated values based on the EDGAR 2010 bottom-up inventory. We explored the use of high-frequency CO observations as a tracer of ffCO2 by deriving a constant ratio of CO enhancements to ffCO2 ratio for the mix of UK fossil fuel sources. This ratio was found to be 5.7 ppb ppm -1 , close to the value predicted using inventories and the atmospheric model of 5.1 ppb ppm -1. The TAC site, in the east of the UK, was strategically chosen to be some distance from pollution sources so as to allow for the observation of well-integrated air masses. However, this distance from pollution sources and the large measurement uncertainty in 14CO2 lead to a large overall uncertainty in the ffCO2 , being around 1.8 ppm compared to typical enhancements of 2 ppm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a mass balance approach to estimate the seasonal and annual budgets of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) of the United Kingdom (excluding Scotland) and the Republic of Ireland from concentration measurements taken on a ferry along the east coast of the United Kingdom over a 3-year period (2015–2017). We estimate the annual emissions of CH4 to be 2.55±0.48 Tg, which is consistent with the combined 2.29 Tg reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by the individual countries. The net CO2 budget (i.e. including all anthropogenic and biogenic sources and sinks of CO2) is estimated at 881.0±125.8 Tg, with a net biogenic contribution of 458.7 Tg (taken as the difference between the estimated net emissions and the inventory value, which accounts for anthropogenic emissions only). The largest emissions for both gases were observed in a broad latitudinal band (52.5–54 ∘ N), which coincides with densely populated areas. The emissions of both gases were seasonal (maxima in winter and minima in summer), strongly correlated with natural gas usage and, to a lesser extent, also anti-correlated with mean air temperature. Methane emissions exhibited a statistically significant anti-correlation with air temperature at the seasonal timescale in the central region spanning 52.8–54.2 ∘ N, which hosts a relatively high density of waste treatment facilities. Methane emissions from landfills have been shown to sometimes increase with decreasing air temperature due to changes in the CH4 -oxidising potential of the topsoil, and we speculate that the waste sector contributes significantly to the CH4 budget of this central region. This study brings independent verification of the emission budgets estimated using alternative products (e.g. mass balance budgets by aircraft measurements, inverse modelling, inventorying) and offers an opportunity to investigate the seasonality of these emissions, which is usually not possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rewetting of drained industrial peatlands may reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and promote recolonisation by peat forming plant species. We investigated carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) dynamics over a three-year period in a rewetted industrial peatland in Ireland. Sample plots were established in bare peat, Juncus effusus-Sphagnum cuspidatum, Sphagnum cuspidatum and Eriophorum angustifolium dominated microsites. The relationships between fluxes and environmental variables were examined and regression models were used to provide an estimate of the annual GHG balance for each microsite. All the vegetated microsites were carbon sinks for the duration of the study. Highest uptake occurred in the Eriophorum microsite (146-583 g C m-2 yr-1), followed by Juncus-Sphagnum (35-204 g C m-2 yr-1) and Sphagnum (5-140 g C m-2 yr-1). The bare peat microsite was a source of 37-82 g C m-2 yr-1. No N2O fluxes were detected. Strong inter-annual variation was observed in all microsites, driven by variation in precipitation and subsequent changes in the position of the water table. In terms of Global Warming Potential (GWP), the microsites had either a cooling effect (Eriophorum), a close to neutral effect (Juncus-Sphagnum, Sphagnum) or a warming effect (bare peat) on the climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy and greenhouse gas ( GHG) reduction targets are driving an acceleration in the use of bioenergy resources. The environmental impact of national and regional development plans must be assessed in compliance with the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment ( SEA) Directive (2001/42/ EC). Here, we quantify the environmental impact of an Irish Government bioenergy plan to replace 30% of peat used in three peat-burning power stations, located within the midlands region, with biomass. Four plan alternatives for supplying biomass to the power plant were considered in this study: (1) importation of palm kernel shell from south-east Asia, (2) importation of olive cake pellets from Spain and (3) growing either willow or (4) M iscanthus in the vicinity of the power stations. The impact of each alternative on each of the environmental receptors proposed in the SEA Directive was first quantified before the data were normalized on either an Irish, regional or global scale. Positive environmental impacts were very small compared to the negative environmental impacts for each of the plan alternatives considered. Comparison of normalized indicator values confirmed that the adverse environmental consequences of each plan alternative are concentrated at the location where the biomass is produced. The analysis showed that the adverse environmental consequences of biomass importation are substantially greater than those associated with the use of willow and M iscanthus grown on former grassland. The use of olive cake pellets had a greater adverse environmental effect compared to the use of peat whereas replacement of peat with either willow or M iscanthus feedstocks led to a substantial reduction in environmental pressure. The proposed assessment framework combines the scope of SEA with the quantitative benefits of life cycle assessment and can be used to evaluate the environmental consequences of bioenergy plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'cohesion' countries of the European Union face intimidating challenges in meeting the greenhouse gas emissions targets set by the Luxembourg Agreement. It requires breaking the link between increasing gross domestic product per capita and rising energy consumption at anearly stage in the economic development cycle. Since the 1990 base year, Ireland has had the highest rate of economic growth in the EU and, therefore, has the most daunting task in staying within the limitsof the Agreement. In addition, with regard to acidification (triggered by emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)), Ireland has new commitments under the recently agreed Gothenburg Protocol. The Irish quotas require substantial reductions in emissions from current (1998) levels, specifically, 71% forSO2 and 44% for NOx. This paper examines the potential reduction in emissions that could be achieved by a programmeto improve energy conservation in the residential sector. The economic value of such reductions is examined and the contribution that such a programme can make to assist Ireland in meeting its obligations under the Luxembourg Agreement and the Gothenburg Protocol is explored. The results show that the reduction in emissions from such a programme would be of considerable economic value. In addition, they would account for over one-third of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions required under the Luxembourg Agreement and 15% of the reduction in SO2 and 11% of the likely reduction in NOx under the Gothenburg Protocol. It would also have the beneficial side-effect of achieving a small reduction in particulate matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the competition facing Ireland in the international market. Several masons have contributed to Ireland's success in attracting securitisation and financial repackaging business to its shores, not least of which has been strong governmental support for the securitisation and financial repackaging industry. The provisions of the country's Finance Bill 2008 allow Irish securitisation vehicles established under Section 110 of the TCA to acquire all types of greenhouse gas emission allowances and interests in such greenhouse gas emission allowances. It proposes a reduction in the rate of Irish tax applicable to dividends paid out of the trading profits of companies resident in an European Union member state or a country with which Ireland has a double tax treaty.

The article reports offers information on the Irish Finance Act 2008. The tax legislation, which extends the classes of assets that may be acquired, held, managed or entered into by qualifying securitisation special purpose vehicles (SPVs), has been signed into law no March 13, 2008. It is stated that in order to qualify for this tax treatment, such SPVs are only permitted to acquire, hold or manage financial assets or enter into legally binding obligations in respect of financial assets. The Finance Act 2008 extends the current definition of financial assets to greenhouse gas emissions allowances, contracts for insurance and contracts for reinsurance, and partnership interests.