The overall aim of this medium-sized study is to contribute to the evidence-base for assessing how Ireland can deliver on
the environmental SDGs. The research will examine the availability of environmental data for Ireland and the public
governance approach required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in Ireland. It will address concepts such as
data gaps, SDG indices, integrated assessment, priority areas, policy gaps, governance and multi-stakeholder processes at
the national and regional level to inform the national policy context.
Pressures: While there appears to be a clear concern that Ireland is at a critical point in its SDG commitments, significant gaps exist in the literature on our understanding of Ireland’s current environmental status in relation to the SDGs. This gap can be addressed by synthesizing fine-grained data available from a variety of sources. Even more pertinent is to increase
understanding of existing data gaps at the national level. This research proposal fills both of these significant gaps in
knowledge. First, while there is an expectation that data availability is higher for economic-environmental indicators than
for the social-environmental or environmental indicators. Second, there is a lack of knowledge on the scale of the problem
in Ireland and therefore it is difficult to ensure meaningful improvements in a fully integrated approach to sustainable
development in Ireland. Finally, the potential for assessing priority areas for environmental SDG policy will be enhanced
if projections on future trends in specific environmental priority areas exist. While systematic projections exist on emissions
trajectories, it is important to ascertain requirements for such estimates in other SDG-related environmental priority areas.
Policy: the project aims to contribute to a range of international and national policy areas, creating a positive feedback loop
between policies for environmental SDG promotion, governance for the SDGs, and integrated environmental policy
making. Internationally, the research will support the Voluntary National Review (VNR) of Ireland by using the official
UN SDG indicator framework to provide an assessment of Ireland’s current environmental progress on the SDGs and
existing SDG policy gaps. These national reviews are expected to serve as a basis for the annual reviews at the UN High-
level Political Forum (HLPF). This will also be particularly important for Ireland in maximising the sharing of experiences,
including successes, challenges and lessons learned, with a view to accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Moreover, the research will contribute to the Framework for Sustainable for Ireland (FSDI) of the Department of
Environment, Community and Local Government by identifying knowledge gaps and emerging research needs in relation
to UN SDG implementation, monitoring and reporting and by informing the development of a national Roadmap for future
research in Ireland on achieving the SDGs. The research proposal also complements with the next phase of NESC work on
governance for the transition to a low-carbon economy in Irish transport and agriculture. NESC is consulting with the Social
and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER) which brokered the Dutch Energy Agreement for Sustainable Growth
(Energieakoord) that engaged multiple Dutch stakeholders in a complex process of analysis and dialogue. We will interview
relevant stakeholders in Ireland and stakeholder representatives engaged in formulating the UN Agenda for 2030 and the
HLPFsto, respectively, map the domestic stakeholder landscape and investigate the appropriate design of multi-stakeholder
processes in the environmental area. The research proposal is also aligned with new Directorate established in the Irish
Central Statistics Office (CSO) in early 2017 which has responsibility for co-ordination of data collection across
government departments. The new area will be responsible for collection of the data for global reporting of the SDGs.
Solutions: developing the evidence base for assessing national progress on the environmental SDGs and practical guidance
on governance institutions for inclusive policies have the potential to ‘de-lock’ unsustainable practices or sub-optimal
development trajectories or path dependencies towards delivering on the environmental SDGs. To address this theme, the
research will: (1) supply the evidence-base for a national data map on the environment relevant official set of UN and EU
SDG indicators; (2) provide a benchmark index by constructing a national environmental SDG Index and an assessment of
data gaps for improving this index in the future; (3) review literature and national/regional initiatives on inclusive
institutions for SDGs, and conduct interviews with stakeholders here and abroad to map the domestic stakeholder landscape and to identify current thinking and international best practice on successful MSPs; (4) to mobilise this knowledge in developing innovative practical guidance to policy makers and relevant stakeholders on MSPs for environmental policy formulation and implementation.
Relevance to EPA priorities: Understanding sustainable development priorities is a core objective for national action in the
EPA 2014-2020 Strategy. This research will inform understanding of environment policy priorities in the SDG area, an
area that has only recently received attention. The project will contribute to all three research pillars of the EPA by assessing
overall national environmental status and reporting data needs in relation to the SDGs in line with the offical UN and EU
indicator frameworks. Moreover, the proposal addresses the EPA’s thematic research priority area of transition
management by examining inclusive institutions for environmental SDG policy formulation and implementation.
the environmental SDGs. The research will examine the availability of environmental data for Ireland and the public
governance approach required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in Ireland. It will address concepts such as
data gaps, SDG indices, integrated assessment, priority areas, policy gaps, governance and multi-stakeholder processes at
the national and regional level to inform the national policy context.
Pressures: While there appears to be a clear concern that Ireland is at a critical point in its SDG commitments, significant gaps exist in the literature on our understanding of Ireland’s current environmental status in relation to the SDGs. This gap can be addressed by synthesizing fine-grained data available from a variety of sources. Even more pertinent is to increase
understanding of existing data gaps at the national level. This research proposal fills both of these significant gaps in
knowledge. First, while there is an expectation that data availability is higher for economic-environmental indicators than
for the social-environmental or environmental indicators. Second, there is a lack of knowledge on the scale of the problem
in Ireland and therefore it is difficult to ensure meaningful improvements in a fully integrated approach to sustainable
development in Ireland. Finally, the potential for assessing priority areas for environmental SDG policy will be enhanced
if projections on future trends in specific environmental priority areas exist. While systematic projections exist on emissions
trajectories, it is important to ascertain requirements for such estimates in other SDG-related environmental priority areas.
Policy: the project aims to contribute to a range of international and national policy areas, creating a positive feedback loop
between policies for environmental SDG promotion, governance for the SDGs, and integrated environmental policy
making. Internationally, the research will support the Voluntary National Review (VNR) of Ireland by using the official
UN SDG indicator framework to provide an assessment of Ireland’s current environmental progress on the SDGs and
existing SDG policy gaps. These national reviews are expected to serve as a basis for the annual reviews at the UN High-
level Political Forum (HLPF). This will also be particularly important for Ireland in maximising the sharing of experiences,
including successes, challenges and lessons learned, with a view to accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Moreover, the research will contribute to the Framework for Sustainable for Ireland (FSDI) of the Department of
Environment, Community and Local Government by identifying knowledge gaps and emerging research needs in relation
to UN SDG implementation, monitoring and reporting and by informing the development of a national Roadmap for future
research in Ireland on achieving the SDGs. The research proposal also complements with the next phase of NESC work on
governance for the transition to a low-carbon economy in Irish transport and agriculture. NESC is consulting with the Social
and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER) which brokered the Dutch Energy Agreement for Sustainable Growth
(Energieakoord) that engaged multiple Dutch stakeholders in a complex process of analysis and dialogue. We will interview
relevant stakeholders in Ireland and stakeholder representatives engaged in formulating the UN Agenda for 2030 and the
HLPFsto, respectively, map the domestic stakeholder landscape and investigate the appropriate design of multi-stakeholder
processes in the environmental area. The research proposal is also aligned with new Directorate established in the Irish
Central Statistics Office (CSO) in early 2017 which has responsibility for co-ordination of data collection across
government departments. The new area will be responsible for collection of the data for global reporting of the SDGs.
Solutions: developing the evidence base for assessing national progress on the environmental SDGs and practical guidance
on governance institutions for inclusive policies have the potential to ‘de-lock’ unsustainable practices or sub-optimal
development trajectories or path dependencies towards delivering on the environmental SDGs. To address this theme, the
research will: (1) supply the evidence-base for a national data map on the environment relevant official set of UN and EU
SDG indicators; (2) provide a benchmark index by constructing a national environmental SDG Index and an assessment of
data gaps for improving this index in the future; (3) review literature and national/regional initiatives on inclusive
institutions for SDGs, and conduct interviews with stakeholders here and abroad to map the domestic stakeholder landscape and to identify current thinking and international best practice on successful MSPs; (4) to mobilise this knowledge in developing innovative practical guidance to policy makers and relevant stakeholders on MSPs for environmental policy formulation and implementation.
Relevance to EPA priorities: Understanding sustainable development priorities is a core objective for national action in the
EPA 2014-2020 Strategy. This research will inform understanding of environment policy priorities in the SDG area, an
area that has only recently received attention. The project will contribute to all three research pillars of the EPA by assessing
overall national environmental status and reporting data needs in relation to the SDGs in line with the offical UN and EU
indicator frameworks. Moreover, the proposal addresses the EPA’s thematic research priority area of transition
management by examining inclusive institutions for environmental SDG policy formulation and implementation.