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Exploring Policies and Instruments for Sustainable Household Consumption in Ireland

Dr Frances Fahy

(NUI Galway, Geography)

The challenge of sustainable consumption in Ireland

•  Environmental Pressures •  Institutional / Political Context •  Policies targeting Sustainable

Consumption in Ireland

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The challenge of sustainable consumption

Environmental Pressures – Economic Growth: Celtic Tiger –  Individual Consumption Patterns

•  Transport (detailed case study to follow) •  Energy •  Food •  Water

Transport

•  Increase of greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector: Ireland had highest increase (130%) of any EU state during the period 1990-2003 (EEA)

•  Car dependency: 1981 - 2002, using the car to get to work has risen from just over one third of respondents to over half. Bus and bike usage has fallen and rail travel only slightly increased (Irish Census 2002)

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Energy •  Energy accounts for 66% of Ireland’s greenhouse gas

emissions

•  Significant demand growth (3,7% per annum average growth since 1990)

•  High import dependency (91%)

•  Low renewable energy (2.7%)

•  But also: 8% improvement energy efficiency last ten years; rapid recent growth in wind energy (46% 2006) (O’Leary et al. 2009; based on SEI data “Energy in Ireland 1990-2006”)

Food

•  Food emissions / Food waste •  OECD 2001: Household food consumption: 30%

of environ. impact (production and processing practices such as emissions from livestock, over-fishing, food miles and packaging waste)

•  Organic Products à no pesticides, less fertilzer; less environmental impact (but: price differences) Local products à Food Miles

•  Instruments: information (labelling)

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Food: Reasons for not buying organic food Ireland (BordBia 2008)

Food: Awareness food labels (BordBia 2008)

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Water •  Daily water consumption per person in Ireland is

over 148 litres; Denmark 116

•  No details of water consumption due to removal of water charges for domestic usage in 1997; OECD (2000) recommended reintroduction of charges and installation of water meters; introduction announced in Budget 2009

•  Infrastructure: Water leakage – up to 55% (cost of €1bn to state pa) Below 10% in Germany and Denmark

Institutional Challenges

Challenges: •  No coherent framework for SC; Fragmented; •  General consumer policy in Ireland has been

weak to date, with responsibility for consumer issues spread across various Gov departments

•  No single Government department has overall responsibility for the area of SC hence policy goals and objectives in this area have been limited to date.

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Institutional Challenges

Challenges: •  National Consumer Agency (2006): no mandate

to take any responsibility for SC agenda •  Sustainable Development Strategy 1997 (SDS)

à“..a large and glossy publication, long on generalities but short on specific commitments.” (Flynn 2007)

•  Revision planned since 2008; still missing

Political and Institutional Challenges

•  All-island cooperation: not sufficient yet •  Trade-off Economic Growth vs.

Environment •  Implementation and enforcement

problems •  Infrastructure (public transport, water)

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Political and Institutional Challenges

•  Weak local governments (lacking resources, competencies; Flynn 2007)

•  Social norms (e.g. car dependency; skepticism towards public transport)

•  Policy Style: Reactive, incremental

Policy Style

No rigid planning approach •  Niestroy (2005), “there are no signs of a too

rigid “planning” approach in Ireland...in classical planning domains like land use planning the notion of “freedom” still dominates the need for a more regulative or stricter planning approach, which can cause serious problems regarding objectives in the area of sustainable development.”

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Institutions and Implementation

•  Flynn 2007 –  Institutions:

•  Weak local governments (little fiscal or legal autonomy)

•  Regulatory independence? (EPA) –  Implementation failures:

•  EU Directives: worsening track record

– Policy style •  Procedural, incremental, reactive

Policy Context: Ecolabelling

•  Irish Government: – no instruments of control specific to

environmental claims in Ireland and – no sanctions in place for misleading claims

(Pender et.al 2007)

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Ecolabelling

•  More than half of consumers do not pay attention to environmental labels or product information (Drury 2000), and are distrustful of on- pack information. Despite the low levels of awareness, there have been very few initiatives to educate either consumers or businesses about environmental labels and claims and none of a comprehensive, integrated nature as found in the UK and the USA. (Pender et al 2007:7)

Policy Context Ireland

•  “The apparent lack of leadership and specific policy objectives in the area contrasts with considerable progress by some other Member States and the European Union itself.(Pender et al. 2007:24)”

•  Sweden: had a stand-alone ministry for sustainable development, with a specific policy area on sustainable production and consumption; development of SCP actions plans

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Timeline for Sustainable Development in Ireland

•  Agenda 21 - UNCED Rio de Janeiro 1992 •  EPA established 1992 •  Sustainable Development: A Strategy for Ireland, 1997 •  Amsterdam treaty, 1997 - SD, a core task for EU •  EU SDS 2002 •  Comhar established 1999 •  Making Ireland’s Development Sustainable 2002 •  WSSD - Johannesburg 2002 •  Revised EU SDS in 2006 •  Revision of Ireland’s SDS in 2007 (?) •  Towards 2016, ten-year framework agreement for social

partnership.

Opportunities

•  Policy Development since 2008 –  Good practice examples

•  Institutional Development: –  EPA ‘93, Comhar ‘99, Nat. Consumer Agency ‘06

•  Green Party in Coalition Government •  Funding in environmental measures •  Energy Efficiency improved 8% last ten years;

growth in wind energy (46% 2006) •  Recycling Rates improved

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Catching up?

Best Practice International •  Carbon Tax / incentives to buy

more efficient cars Europe •  Tax on water use Europe •  Paris 2007: Free bike

Local Level / Civil Society: •  Transition Town (Totnes, UK)

•  Eco-Village Australia •  LETS Schemes UK •  Green Box schemes

Ireland Policy Introduction •  Carbon Tax 2009; Car tax

based on emissions 2008 •  Water Charges 2010 •  Dublin Bike Scheme 2009 Local Level / Civil Society: •  Transition Towns (Kinsale

2005) •  Eco-Village Tipperary •  Ballinasloe-LETS •  Green Box Leitrim, Galway etc

Instrument Types •  Strategic Goals:

–  Energy 20% reduction demand by 2020; NSDS 1997, 2002 •  Economic instruments:

–  Grants and Subsidies for home insulation –  Plastic Bag Levy (reduced consumption by 92%; (OECD 2008) –  Investment in Water Infrastructure, transport (work bike schemes;

Travel pass TCD; Dublin bike scheme) •  Regulatory instruments:

–  Building Regulations 2002 (amended 2008) •  Information campaigns and Education:

–  Power of One (energy awareness) –  Change campaign (www.change.ie) –  Green Schools

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Car taxes

•  Tax on new cars: Vehicle Registration Tax

(VRT), and annual tax. •  From 1st July 2008, the basis of these taxes was

changed from engine size to CO2 emissions (g / km) à incentive to buy low-emission vehicles

•  à impact: share of low CO2-emitting cars rose from 43 per cent before the change to 79 per cent one year later.

Car taxes

•  Effect is real, but exaggerated, because – due

to the recession – incomes were falling over this period, and this income effect encouraged the purchase of cheaper and typically lower-emitting cars in any event.

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Assessment Taxes: Comhar

•  “These new taxes are ‘smart’ taxes – they make it easier for us all to do the right thing: to protect our environment for our posterity. They also provide opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs to create jobs in response to these incentives, and they provide the funds to make adjustments quickly and effectively.” (Comhar,2009)

Good Practice for Ireland?

•  Eco-labelling: Ireland: no instruments of control specific to environmental claims; no sanctions for misleading claims; low awareness and trust of consumers (Pender 2007)

•  Nordic Countries: Nordic Swan eco-label: multi-country coverage (5 Nordic countries), high product uptake (1 200 products in 60 categories), government certification, and extensive brand awareness among consumers. www.svanen.nu/Eng/

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Good Practice for Ireland?

•  Credibility of Eco-Labelling •  Nordic Countries: The Nordic Swan •  This cross-border labelling scheme could

serve as a model regarding the Irish all-island context as well as promoting a trustworthy government certification.

Good Practice for Ireland?

•  Fragmentation SC over different departments in Ireland

•  Sweden: has a stand-alone ministry for

sustainable development, with a specific policy area on sustainable production and consumption; development of SCP actions plans

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Good Practice for Ireland? Sustainable Transport •  Sweden has combined a number of instruments to help

promote sustainable transport: a mix of carbon-differentiated vehicle tax, an environmental tax on air travel, tax exemption for diesel cars with particle filters and alternative fuel engines, as well as a congestion charge in Stockholm.

•  Ireland: The recent smarter travel programme (2008/2009) could be extended to a more comprehensive framework comparable to the Swedish example.

Good Practice for Ireland? Denmark, Hungary and the Netherlands: •  Public Information Campaigns combined with water

prices •  These countries charge for water supplied to houses and then

add additional levies for consumption over given thresholds as well as special restrictions. They combine this with public information campaigns to help decrease water wastage further.

•  Ireland: Water charges are planned for household level as soon as water meters are installed in households. Ireland could learn from information campaigns from these countries to meet the rising resistance already voiced against these charges.

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Recommendations Comhar

– Adopt a revised Irish Sustainable

Development Strategy 2007: develop measures to provide direction and coherence for all national policy

– Adopt suitable governance and implementation institutions and mechanisms (SD cabinet subcommittee)

– Subsidiarity principle –  Implementing agencies: sufficient resources

The Need for ConsEnSus

•  RESEARCH GAP: No data on all-island sustainable consumption behaviours in Irish Context yet

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Objectives

ConsEnSus aims to …deepen our understandings of the key

determinants, motivations and factors that shape consumption behaviours including incentives and barriers, attitudes, situational context and the interaction between them

ConsEnSus Project: Structure

1) Tools for governing

sustainable living (FOUNDATION)

2) Sustainable living Survey

(FOUNDATION)

7) Project Management and

Coordination (INTEGRATION)

3) Transport

(EXPLORATION)

4) Energy

(EXPLORATION)

5) Water

(EXPLORATION)

6) Food

(EXPLORATION)

7 Themes

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Aims of Consensus Project: •  Produce baseline data for Ireland: transport,

energy, water and food •  Address key issues in sustainable consumption:

measurement, evaluation, behavioural analysis, quality of life, governance

•  Develop policy recommendations for policy makers and action plans for sustainable lifestyles

•  Cooperation with state/non-state organizations •  Establish cross-border research network (SCRN)

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www.consensus.ie consensus@nuigalway.ie

Frances Fahy National University of Ireland, Galway frances.fahy@nuigalway.ie Jessica Pape TCD, Dublin consensus@nuigalway.ie Henrike Rau National University of Ireland, Galway henrike.rau@nuigalway.ie Anna Davies TCD, Dublin daviesa@tcd.ie