Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Ireland decreased 6.8% in 2023 and are below the 1990 baseline for the first time in three decades. The decrease in emissions are reflected in all of the large sectors with the exception of a slight increase in transport.
Agriculture emissions decreased by 4.6% in 2023 (1.01 Mt CO2eq). The main reasons are decreases of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser use of 18%. Livestock numbers decreased in general, non-dairy cattle by 1.1%, sheep by 1.2% and pigs by 4.3%. Dairy cow numbers increased by 0.6%, however milk output per cow and overall production was reduced.
Energy industry emissions decreased by 21.6% (2.16 Mt CO2eq) in 2023 due to a 12-fold increase in the amount of imported electricity (9.5% of electricity supply in 2023), in combination with an increase in the share of renewable energy to 40.7% in 2023. The emissions intensity of power generation decreased from 332g CO2/kWh in 2022 to a historic low of 255g CO2/kWh in 2023.
Household emissions (the residential sector) decreased by 7.1% (0.41 Mt CO₂eq) in 2023. The reduction was caused by a combination of a milder winter and increased fuel prices. Coal, peat, natural gas and kerosene sales declined by 22%, 13%, 14% and 0.3% respectively.
Transport emissions increased slightly by 0.3% in 2023 (0.03 Mt CO2eq). This increase follows a 6% increase in both 2021 and 2022, caused by the ending of remaining COVID travel restrictions. Electric Vehicles now account for almost 56% of the 2025 policy target.
Ireland's emissions profile has changed considerably since 1990, with the contribution from transport more than doubling and the share from agriculture reducing since 1998. However, since 2011, emissions have trended upwards again with an overall peak in emissions reported in 2016. Agriculture is the largest source of emissions, representing 37.8 per cent of total national emissions in 2023, based on provisional estimates. Both the transport and energy industries sectors represent 24.1 and 14.3 per cent respectively, of total greenhouse gas emissions in 2023. The transport sector has been the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. Ireland’s emissions in 2023 are below the 1990 baseline for the first time in three
decades. Further information about Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions is available on our website.
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(Latest update May 2024)
Ireland's latest projections show total emissions (without LULUCF) decreasing from 2022 levels by 14% by 2030 under the With Existing Measures (WEM) scenario and by 29% under the With Additional Measures (WAM) scenario. The gap between both scenarios is largely attributed to significant reductions in key sectors such as power generation, residential, transport, commercial and public services and agriculture as a result of the Climate Action Plan 2024 and other policy documents such as Ag Climatise. Three key sectors; agriculture, transport and energy industries consistently have the largest share of emissions. Under the WEM scenario, emissions from agriculture and transport are projected to decrease by 1% and 5% respectively over the period 2022 to 2030. Emissions from energy industries are projected to decrease by 57% over the same period. When we look at the more ambitious WAM scenario, emissions from agriculture, energy and transport reduce by 18%, 62% and 26% respectively.
Full and early implementation of the Climate Action Plan 2024 is needed if the savings projected in the With Additional Measures are to materialise. The scale and pace of the changes needed are significant, requiring much greater reliance on renewables, cross-cutting measures such as an €100 per tonne of CO2 carbon tax by 2030 and further ambitious measures in sectors such as transport, agriculture and power generation.
Further information is available at the EPA's latest report Ireland' Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections
