Although, Ireland has committed to reducing its CO₂ emissions by 4.8% per annum from 2021- 2025 under the first carbon budget, energy related emissions were instead up 5.4% in 2021.

  • 5.4%

    Increase in CO₂ emissions in 2021
  • 1.8 MtCO₂

    Increase in CO₂ emissions in 2021
  • 7.4%

    Increase in CO₂ emissions from transport in 2021

Greenhouse gas emissions come from many different sources. The two most important from the point of view of human contribution to climate change are carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Carbon dioxide mainly comes from the burning fossil fuels for energy. In Ireland methane mostly comes from agriculture livestock. Other sources of greenhouse gas emissions include industrial processes such as cement manufacture, fertiliser spreading in agriculture and refrigeration gases. CO2 from burning fossil fuels accounted for 57% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland during 2021, down from 65% in 2005.

Greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland

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,Agriculture (excluding energy related),Energy related Non-ETS,Other non-ETS,ETS
2005,20303.16768,25773.72339,2797.597645,19778.48821
2006,20289.98667,25982.56305,2770.055861,19100.50315
2007,19698.49772,26431.03563,2252.37692,18594.42259
2008,19484.20173,27100.66356,2084.221271,18048.79369
2009,19198.77037,24990.18244,1854.032682,15698.42751
2010,19269.29133,24356.72263,1810.723448,16023.10331
2011,18644.09436,22284.5955,1929.984955,14561.88364
2012,19518.29509,21498.58981,1821.943781,15429.70456
2013,20312.12512,21394.42754,2037.327161,14377.77661
2014,19846.24096,20814.93803,2303.440498,14300.76016
2015,20415.51092,21806.56746,2400.583273,14984.36529
2016,20946.51501,22551.47878,2494.468086,15755.7227
2017,21640.98796,22146.28471,2404.669168,14840.31318
2018,22463.68089,23359.99971,2065.998275,13390.57894
2019,21544.61742,23108.25893,2065.668665,12074.60433
2020,21841.79902,21745.55374,1920.109636,11351.17884
2021,22507.11861,21861.96712,1877.683213,13024.37613
Source: Environmental Protection Agency

Share of greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland in 2021

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Share of Irish greenhouse gas emissions (%),% in 2021
Agriculture,38
Energy related Non-ETS,36.9
Other non-ETS,3.2
ETS,22
Source: Environmental Protection Agency

Emissions from large companies (ETS)

Any company or body within the EU that emits a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions is included in the Emissions Trading System, commonly known as the ETS for short. This includes large industries, electricity generators, and the aviation industry. The ETS ensures that all these companies will collectively reduce their emissions by 43% by 2030 compared to 2005.

More on EU ETS

Emissions from homes, small businesses and farms (Non-ETS)

All greenhouse gas emissions that are not from companies in the ETS are called non-ETS emissions. Non-ETS emissions include greenhouse gas emissions from homes, cars, small businesses and agriculture. These are often collectively called the non-ETS sector.

Non-ETS emissions are important because each country in the EU has mandatory targets to reduce non-ETS emissions by 2030.

More on EU non-ETS emissions targets

Large share of fossil fuels and agriculture

The biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland is CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels by the non-ETS sector, for example in homes and cars. These made up 38% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland in 2021, and 49% of all non-ETS greenhouse gas emissions.

Ireland is unusual compared to other EU countries because greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture make up a much larger share of our emissions. In 2021 agriculture was responsible for 37.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions, and for 47% of all non-ETS greenhouse gas emissions.

Other greenhouse gas emissions in the non-ETS sector, for instance from refrigeration or from landfill gases, made up 3.2% of all greenhouse gas emissions, or 4% of non-ETS emissions in 2021.

Companies in the ETS were responsible for 22% of Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions in 2021.

Ireland failed to meet 2020 emissions reduction target for non-ETS

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Non-ETS emissions target,Energy related,Agriculture,Total,Target (20% below 2005 by 2020),Target (30% below 2005 by 2030)
2005,0,0,0,-20,-30
2006,1,0,0,-20,-30
2007,3,-3,-1,-20,-30
2008,5,-4,0,-20,-30
2009,-3,-5,-6,-20,-30
2010,-5,-5,-7,-20,-30
2011,-14,-8,-12,-20,-30
2012,-17,-4,-12,-20,-30
2013,-17,0,-10,-20,-30
2014,-19,-2,-12,-20,-30
2015,-15,1,-9,-20,-30
2016,-13,3,-6,-20,-30
2017,-14,7,-5,-20,-30
2018,-9,11,-2,-20,-30
2019,-10,6,-4,-20,-30
2020,-16,8,-7,-20,-30
2021,-15,11,-5,-20,-30
Source: EPA

Ireland's target for 2020 was for non-ETS emissions to be 20% lower than they were in 2005. Ireland failed to meet this target. In 2020 our non-ETS emissions were just 7% below 2005 levels. Energy related non- ETS emissions were only 16% below 2005 levels despite a large drop in transport emissions in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Agriculture related non-ETS emissions were 8% higher than 2005 levels.

Ireland's new target for 2030 is for non-ETS emissions to be 30% lower than they were in 2005. In 2021 our non-ETS emissions were 5% below 2005 levels. Energy related non- ETS emissions were 15% below 2005 levels . Agriculture related non-ETS emissions were 11% higher than 2005 levels.

 

Energy-related CO2 emissions

SEAI compiles statistics on energy use, which allows us to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide released on burning fossil fuels. The following sections give more information on carbon dioxide emissions from energy use in Ireland.

The Environmental Protection Agency compiles data on all greenhouse gas emissions for Ireland, including agriculture and industrial processes, more information available on the EPA website.

Energy related CO₂ by fuel

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Energy related CO2 emissions by fuel (ktCO2),Oil,Gas,Coal,Peat,Wastes Non-Renewable
2005,27995,8330,7463,3766,0
2006,27386,9442,6465,3564,0
2007,27390,10149,6342,3483,0
2008,27202,10771,5591,4132,0
2009,23507,10257,4536,4134,29
2010,22113,11268,4890,3612,17
2011,20530,9905,4854,3423,37
2012,18923,9621,5892,3775,151
2013,19068,9061,5184,3606,320
2014,18954,8860,4959,3752,312
2015,20208,8981,5818,3630,334
2016,21113,9940,5757,3527,321
2017,20896,10071,4553,3343,562
2018,21829,10466,3128,3191,798
2019,21921,10725,1544,2934,832
2020,18366,10735,1780,1965,781
2021,19456,10344,3629,1246,781
Source: SEAI

Share of energy related CO₂ by fuel in 2021

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Share of energy related CO2 emissions by fuel (%),2021
Oil,54.90
Gas,29.20
Coal,10.20
Peat,3.50
Wastes Non-Renewable,2.20
Source: SEAI

Some fuels emit more CO2 per unit of energy than others. For instance, coal and peat emit high levels of CO2 per unit of energy used, but natural gas emits less. All renewable energy sources are considered zero carbon. Therefore, changes in the mix of fuels used over time can increase or reduce emissions.

Almost 55% of all energy-related CO2 emissions in 2021 were from burning oil products such as petrol and kerosene. Oil is such a large share because transport makes up a very large share of energy use in Ireland and virtually all energy used for transport is from oil. More Irish homes also use oil for heating than any other fuel, which is unusual compared to other EU countries.

Coal and peat were responsible for 14% of all energy-related CO2 emissions in 2021, mostly from electricity generation and in homes.

Energy-related CO₂ by sector

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Energy related CO2 emissions by sector (ktCO2),Electricity Generation,Industry,Transport,Residential,Commercial/Public Services,Agricultural/Fisheries,Other
2005,15324.89509,5216.185683,15261.26215,8173.593342,1707.738421,1005.227642,865.66622
2006,14944.74138,4810.752468,16325.11336,8041.744745,1673.375034,954.2801095,105.566838
2007,14508.4268,4796.518184,17113.39416,7877.444973,1620.650609,903.9126991,543.1776566
2008,14507.36433,4619.984997,16195.99104,8668.479877,1662.982694,951.3209763,1089.860998
2009,13132.91818,3594.841828,14388.14405,8492.133505,1321.867051,815.8262322,717.6325373
2010,13408.7778,3606.997538,13547.34308,8740.417083,1425.322146,756.3213427,414.6139238
2011,12466.12894,3190.040291,13016.36173,7517.02615,1332.533094,714.8500558,511.9193357
2012,13277.64066,3232.693278,12316.47976,7041.488106,1358.725284,690.7966401,444.3546193
2013,11960.66398,3405.005659,12793.76436,6844.59396,1469.83274,616.0229835,149.2500216
2014,11798.01182,3660.283478,13286.20608,6064.160425,1344.046198,556.3333441,127.9047723
2015,12414.00284,3656.897012,14062.39451,6486.481923,1474.158577,529.7860491,345.9691758
2016,13118.65707,3753.723864,14646.38316,6764.192306,1405.732876,547.8003796,421.9918511
2017,12142.40542,3872.320807,14822.44624,6414.32417,1354.816418,576.4438073,241.6994018
2018,10623.50518,4093.184364,15231.56633,6892.60379,1475.560578,622.0898154,472.9476134
2019,9427.86136,4030.897593,15254.74316,6648.294335,1443.858955,634.6605317,515.0817398
2020,8770.487352,3904.936043,11226.41047,7178.832963,1490.889089,622.2123728,433.3857837
2021,10288.8316,4031.995145,12040.83415,6744.244584,1451.050101,618.7342939,280.3054949
Source: SEAI

Share of energy related CO₂ by sector in 2021

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Share of energy related CO2 emissions by sector (%),2021
Electricity Generation,29
Industry,11
Transport,34
Residential,19
Commercial/Public Services,4
Agricultural/Fisheries,2
Other,1
Source: SEAI

High emissions from transport

Transport is by far the largest source of energy-related CO2 emissions in Ireland. Before the COVID-19 pandemic it was responsible for over 40% of energy related CO2 emissions in 2019. During 2020, transport was the sector whose energy use was most impacted by the public health restrictions taken to combat COVID-19, and transport energy use fell by 26%. By the middle of 2021 transport activity and energy use had mostly returned to pre-pandemic levels. Transport accounted for 34% of energy related CO2 emissions in 2021.

Electricity generation and households are the next biggest sources of energy-related CO2 emissions. Electricity generation was responsible for 29% of energy related CO2 emissions in 2021 and fuel use in homes was responsible for 19%.

Ireland is unusual in that households emits more CO2 than industry. This is because Ireland does not have as much heavy industry, such as steel or fertiliser manufacture, compared to other countries. Also we use larger amounts of carbon intensive fuels such as coal, peat and oil in our homes, compared to other EU countries.

Non-ETS Energy-related CO₂ by sector

Share of non-ETS energy-related CO₂ emissions by sector in 2021

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Share of energy-related non-ETS CO2 emissions by sector (%),2021
Transport,52.4
Residential,33
Industry,4.7
Services,7
Agriculture,3
Source: SEAI

Tackling transport emissions crucial for Ireland

To tackle climate change, EU countries have agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the non-ETS sector in each country.

When looking at the non-ETS sector we exclude greenhouse gas emissions from electricity and large companies, as these are counted under the Emissions Trading System. About half of non-ETS emissions are from agriculture and the other half are energy related.

Looking at the energy-related Non-ETS CO2 emissions, these are dominated by transport, which was responsible for 52% in 2021. The next biggest share was residential at 33%. Because most industry is under the ETS, industry made up just 5% of energy-related non-ETS CO2 emissions.

For Ireland to reduce our non-ETS emissions and meet our targets for 2030, we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions from transport and homes, as well as agriculture.

Energy-related CO₂ by mode

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ktCO2,Electricity,Heat ,Transport
2005,15324.89509,16968.41131,15261.26215
2006,14944.74138,15585.7192,16325.11336
2007,14508.4268,15741.70412,17113.39416
2008,14507.36433,16992.62954,16195.99104
2009,13132.91818,14942.30115,14388.14405
2010,13408.7778,14943.67203,13547.34308
2011,12466.12894,13266.36893,13016.36173
2012,13277.64066,12768.05793,12316.47976
2013,11960.66398,12484.70536,12793.76436
2014,11798.01182,11752.72822,13286.20608
2015,12414.00284,12493.29274,14062.39451
2016,13118.65707,12893.44128,14646.38316
2017,12142.40542,12459.6046,14822.44624
2018,10623.50518,13556.38616,15231.56633
2019,9427.86136,13272.79315,15254.74316
2020,8770.487352,13630.25625,11226.41047
2021,10288.8316,13126.32962,12040.83415
Source: SEAI

Share of energy related CO₂ by mode

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Share of Energy related CO2 by mode (%),2021
Electricity,29
Heat ,37
Transport,34
Source: SEAI

We can also look at energy-related CO2 emissions split into the three main modes of energy: electricity, heat and transport. In 2021, heat remained the largest share of energy-related CO2 emissions at 37%.

Transport had caused most CO2 emissions every year from 2013 to 2019, but fell by 26% in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its share returned to growth in 2021 making up 34% of energy related CO2 emissions.

Electricity emissions grew by 17% in 2021, due to outages in our gas-fired electricity generators and a particularly poor year for wind generation in 2021, which forced us onto higher carbon coal- and oil-fired electricity generators to compensate.. Electricity was responsible for 29% of energy-related CO2 emissions.

Economic activity, energy use and CO₂ emissions

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"Energy use, energy related CO2 emissions and economic activity (index relative to 2005)",Final energy,Energy related CO2,Economy (MDD)
2005,100,100,100
2006,102.6822175,98.53012101,106.180265
2007,104.1658566,99.59826473,110.8352201
2008,104.6255413,100.297377,107.2527486
2009,94.99985083,89.29397253,95.2785635
2010,94.27299354,88.10886984,91.23323068
2011,87.92934965,81.48293796,90.23036446
2012,85.09727904,80.66980632,90.1833257
2013,86.55055576,78.30821483,91.76947248
2014,86.290114,77.46247571,97.67942149
2015,90.55405268,81.94731078,103.0600277
2016,93.6418799,85.49858142,109.0866328
2017,94.35805033,82.90361465,112.0814335
2018,98.69446182,82.87628061,115.0041081
2019,98.65025135,79.81440865,119.0412875
2020,89.21073541,70.71277292,113.9999875
2021,91.07577718,74.55854705,120.2875009
Source: SEAI

Energy use is usually linked to economic activity. A growing economy leads to more goods being produced, purchased, transported, and more disposable income for people spend on travel or on heating their homes.

GDP is the most commonly used indicator for economic growth but in Ireland GDP can be disproportionately affected by the accounting of large multinationals. An alternative measure of economic activity is Modified Domestic Demand (MDD), which has been developed by the Central Statistics Office. We use MDD to measure economic growth, as it gives a better reflection of activity in the economy that drives energy use.

Ireland’s economy grew rapidly from the early 1990s up until the global financial crisis in 2007. Ireland’s economy then contracted sharply between 2007 and 2010, and continued to shrink until 2012. From 2012 it returned to strong growth.

In Ireland, transport is the sector whose energy use is most sensitive to economic growth. Transport experienced the largest reduction in energy use during the recession and the largest growth since 2012. The sector that has contributed most to the increase in transport growth since 2012 has been aviation.

In other sectors of the Irish economy energy use is not as closely tied to the economy. Ireland’s economy is more based on the services sector than on manufacturing. Unlike most manufacturing, the services sector has lower energy use per unit of value added, and can significantly increase the value of its output without leading to a large increase in energy use.

In 2021 economic growth, energy use and energy related CO2 emissions all grew, after falling in 2020 due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Energy-related CO₂ emissions report

Our reports on energy-related CO₂ emissions in Ireland provide more information and analysis. Check out our statistics Key Publications page (link) for the latest reports and other statistics reports.