EPA Announces Funding Of €6.6million For Targeted New Research Projects.

EPA announces funding of €6.6million for targeted new research projects to address environmental, climate and sustainability challenges.

• The EPA today announces funding of €6.6million for new research that will address environmental, climate and sustainability challenges in Ireland.
• Funding will support targeted research projects that address specific needs from across the policy community, with a focus on shorter projects to provide timely outputs.
• Proposals are invited under 29 individual topics, including how we can enhance the reuse of water in Ireland, assessing methane emissions and exploring the impact of global megatrends on achieving environmental objectives.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced research funding of up to €6.6 million for new environmental research. The EPA is inviting proposals from the research community for innovative projects under 29 topics that will contribute to the development and implementation of environmental policies in Ireland.

Announcing the EPA funding call, Dr Eimear Cotter, (Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment) said: “The EPA’s continued investment in research underscores its critical role in addressing knowledge gaps and supporting effective policy responses to the challenges posed by climate change and environmental degradation. In 2024, we were delighted to see an 80 per cent increase in applications to the EPA research call, highlighting the significant opportunity that researchers see for their work to contribute to environmental and climate policy development, and we hope to see a similarly strong response to our 2025 call.”

1. Research topics to be funded include:
2. assessing the performance of policies on achieving our climate targets;
3. examining how Ireland’s infrastructure can be resilient to population growth and climate change in the future;
4. exploring the impact of global megatrends such as artificial intelligence on environmental objectives;
5. how we can enhance the reuse of water in Ireland, and
6. analysing methane emissions from natural sources and human activities in Ireland.

Dr Darragh O’Neill, (EPA Research Manager”), stated, “The EPA is inviting proposals across 29 topics to address specific knowledge gaps. To strengthen the connection between research and policy, the EPA will support the successful research teams in working closely with the policy community to deliver impactful research outcomes. We particularly encourage early career researchers to apply and to consider the relevance of their research to the environment, climate and sustainability.”

The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative, funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. Applications are accepted from across the island of Ireland, including from higher education institutions, research performing organisations, private companies and non-governmental organisations. Under this year’s call, the EPA is delighted to be partnering with Met Éireann, the Office of Public Works and the National Parks and Wildlife Service to co-fund projects in areas of mutual interest.

Further details about the 2025 EPA Research Call and how to apply for funding is available on the EPA Website.