Ireland’s Economy - A Growing Threat to Sustainability?
- Economics and Business Club NPSi
- Aug 17, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 27, 2021
Ireland is one of the world's most developed countries. Its HDI of 0.955 is one of the highest in the world. Despite its high standard of living and income per capita, its economy is much akin to newly industrialized countries, with the industrial sector accounting for nearly 40% of their total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). At the heart of the Irish economy has always been the foreign exports industry; their trade ranges far and wide, from their neighbouring United Kingdom to the United States across the Atlantic. However, the secrets to Ireland’s profits lie in the goods themselves - electronic circuits, pharmaceutical products, and even animal exports are of extremely high value. These goods tend to require a significant amount of natural resources to manufacture, hence, the factories used to produce such goods use enormous amounts of fossil fuels, primarily coal and petroleum. The availability of such natural resources is evidently dwindling, and the country might not be able to sustain such an important industry for much longer. Additionally, its fossil-fueled development makes it a growing threat to the environment. Will the nation be able to stay afloat with a thriving manufacturing and export industry without compromising on an eco-friendly future?
Various chemicals and nitrogen-based heterocyclic compounds are important exports for the Irish economy. However, such products are incredibly harmful for the environment, being toxic and potentially carcinogenic. Not only does this cause a variety of illnesses in the native wildlife, primarily due to air pollution, it can also cause mutations in living organisms. Indeed, Ireland’s pharmaceutical exports, vital to their growing biotechnology industry, are some of the most dangerous chemicals in the world, multiplying and mutating exponentially. Moreover, the production processes for animal goods result in emissions of vast amounts of greenhouse gases such as methane, and the production plants needed to make these products release the same, polluting nearby earth, water, and air. The Irish trade industry is, as such, a looming threat to both the natural landscape and environment, as well as its already scarce resources for production.
Identifying the problem does not fix the problem - the fundamental question is 'What is Ireland doing to create a sustainable environment?'. Ireland ranks in the lowest position out of fifteen European Union (EU) Countries with respect to protecting the environment, according to the latest Sustainable Progress Index (SPI) commissioned by the Social Justice Ireland Organisation. Fortunately, the Irish government has been designing effective steps to solve this crisis. Ireland’s biggest agricultural exports are malt extract, bovine meat, butter, and cheese. In short, Ireland's trade economy largely depends on dairy and agricultural products. The government has hence adopted a farm-to-fork strategy to help improve sustainability. This strategy aims to cut the usage of pesticides and antimicrobials in half, reduce the loss of biodiversity, and improve general animal welfare. The country also has objectives such as increasing the land farmed organically to 25% of its agricultural land area, and reducing local fertilizer usage by 20%.
The Irish government has published a new climate law which commits Ireland to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and the bill has already been seen to produce positive changes. This bill may be the key to making Ireland a sustainable nation; protecting the environment and keeping its vital trade industry alive simultaneously.
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Written By: Daksh Mathur, Rishima Cheepala, Divya Narayanan, Navya Gupta
Edited By: Aparajit Iyer, Yashas Ramakrishnan
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