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I reland’s emissions continue to rise, and are 60pc above the EU average, latest figures show
Agriculture, energy and transport are the sectors which emit the most greenhouse gases.
Ireland has the third highest level of greenhouse gas emissions per capita in the EU and levels are still rising despite Government commitments to reduce emissions.
I reland emitted 3.72 tonnes of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other fluorinated gases per capita in the first quarter of 2022, the third-highest level behind just Luxembourg (4.05) and Denmark (3.75), Eurostat’s report for September 2022 shows.
This takes Ireland’s emissions back to pre-pandemic levels and represents a 19pc increase in emissions levels year-on-year from Q1 2021 from 3.13 tons per capita, Eurostat reported.
Total emissions in Ireland increased by 4.7pc in 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said.
This is in spite of the Government’s pledge to cut emissions by 4.8pc per year between 2021 and 2025 as parts of a larger target of reducing emissions by 51pc by 2030.
The EPA forecast that Ireland will be nowhere near the target reduction of 51pc by 2030.
“The latest projections indicate that the sectoral and overall targets set out in the Climate Action Plan will not be met with the measures currently modelled. An emissions reduction of 28pc in 2030 vs 2018 is projected,” the EPA said in its report on 2021 greenhouse gas findings, which factors in additional measures being taken before 2030.
If additional measures are not taken before 2030, it predicts just an 11pc reduction by then.
This is while Ireland’s per capita emissions are still rising as of this year, up very slightly to 3.72 tonnes by the end of March, from 3.7 tonnes at the beginning of the year.
Ireland’s figure of 3.72 tonnes per capita is also 61pc higher than the EU average of 2.3 tonnes per capita.
Eurostat figures show a sharp decline in Ireland’s emissions in line with the Covid-19 pandemic, but they now show a steady increase since their lowest point in the middle of 2020.
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