Title: Trends in air pollution in Ireland: a decomposition analysis

Authors: Richard S.J. Tol

Addresses: Department of Economics, University of Sussex, Jubilee Building, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9SL, UK

Abstract: Trends in the emissions to air of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and ammonia in Ireland are analysed with a logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition for the period of 1990-2009. Emissions fell for four of the five pollutants, with ammonia being stationary, despite rapid economic change. A fall in emissions per unit output was the main driver of this trend, except for ammonia where structural economic change was the main driver. Extrapolating these trends, Ireland will keep emissions below its national emission ceilings, except in the case of nitrogen oxides where the target will likely be met by 2015.

Keywords: decomposition analysis; air pollutants; Ireland; air pollution; air quality; pollutant emissions; sulphur dioxide; nitrogen oxides; NOx; carbon monoxide; volatile organic compounds; VOCs; ammonia; economic change.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2016.076944

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2016 Vol.15 No.3, pp.201 - 216

Accepted: 18 Apr 2014
Published online: 08 Jun 2016 *

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