The “economic intensity of greenhouse gas emissions” fell in Ireland between 2012 and 2021 according to a new report from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The report also highlighted that “some progress in emissions intensity is visible” in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector in the nine year period to 2021.
The latest CSO report on the “Economic Intensity of Greenhouse Gas Emissions” shows that Ireland had among the largest percentage “emission intensity” decreases of EU member states between between 2012 and 2021.
According to Mark Manto, CSO statistician, researchers compared published economic data from the CSO national accounts division with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data from the CSO environment division for the new report.
Manto said the effects on GHG intensities due to changes in the size and structure of the Irish economy were examined in the latest CSO report.
“With increasing activity an associated increase in air emissions could be expected. However, this relationship was not maintained over the 2012-2021 period, with the change in total economic output and value added not tracking the change in the level of air emissions.
“This change is particularly evident in the 2020 and 2021 estimates, which were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
According to the CSO there was a 1% increase in GHG air emissions by industry between 2021 and 2021
Manto added: “GHG air emissions by industry, excluding the household sector, were 53,857 final CO2 equivalent kilotonnes in 2012.
“This was very similar to the 54,362 final CO2 equivalent kilotonnes estimated in 2021”.
According to the latest research while the COVID-19 pandemic affected the level of industry emissions in 2020 and 2021, particularly for air transport, the 63,710 final CO2 equivalent kilotonnes estimated in 2019 represented an 18% increase from 2012.
The report highlighted that Irish emission intensities were in the mid-range of EU member states in 2021.
But it also noted that Ireland had among the “largest percentage emission intensity decreases” of EU member states between 2012 and 2021 and that Irish sectors displayed large differences in intensity relative to EU averages.”
According to Manto “it is well known that the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector has the highest relative share of GHG air emissions and in 2021 contributed 1.4% of total output, 1.1% of total Gross Value Added (GVA) and an estimated 40.7% of non-residential GHG air emissions.”
However he added:
“Some progress in emissions intensity is visible across the 2012-2021 time-series when examined by output (78% of 2012 intensity) and GVA (46% of 2012 intensity).
“GVA in constant 2020 prices also showed an intensity improvement in 2021 (64% of 2012 intensity),” Manto said.
The latest CSO report noted that “this contrasts with several other sectors, in part due to the highly globalised nature of the Irish economy and the influence of foreign-owned multinational enterprise dominated sectors”.
It highlighted that manufacturing contributed 34.6% of total output, 36.8% of total GVA and an estimated 14.1% of non-residential GHG air emissions in 2021.