Only one in four willing to pay environmental taxes, research says

Most people have taken action to help the environment but less than one in four is willing to pay environmental charges or taxes, it has emerged.

Research commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency found that over three quarters (78%) have personally helped the environment.

Also, 87% of adults recognise the importance of the environment as an asset to the country.

However, the Red C poll carried out in January found that only 23% of people are willing to pay environmental charges or taxes.

The survey found that climate change, water quality, environment and health and taxation were the areas of environmental policy that people felt affected them personally. But they regarded taxation as an area of environmental policy that affected them the most.

EPA director general Laura Burke said it is extremely encouraging that so many people had taken “personal steps” to protect the environment.

“While we are encouraged by many of the positive findings in our research, it is clear that more work needs to be done to tackle environmental issues at a societal level,” said Ms Burke.

Ms Burke said it is clear that people recognised the link between threats to the environment and the impact on the lives of individuals and communities.

The research was launched to coincide with the publication of the EPA 2019 Year in Review report that shows the progress made in licensing and enforcement.

Licensed industrial and waste facilities that consistently fail to meet environmental standards are targeted by the EPA and identified as national priority sites for enforcement. Last year saw the number of priority sites reduce to 11.

Complaints about licensee activities reduced to 685 compared to 897 the previous year. Over half of the complaints received related to odour, with about a quarter related to noise and over one-third of all complaints related to just three sites.

Over the year the EPA continued to strengthen the capacity and capability of the ambient air quality network. It added 19 new monitoring stations to the network, bringing the total to 69.