Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions fell in general in Ireland in 2020 because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on air travel, latest statistics show.
However, emissions from agriculture, forestry and fishing increased by 1%, according to the Environmental Accounts Air Emissions 2020 report published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (Wednesday, October 26).
This 1% increase in emissions from agriculture, forestry and fishing, was driven by an increase in methane emissions from livestock, according to the CSO.
The report also details that emissions from agriculture, forestry and fishing of the three GHGs – carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide – increased in 2020.
Nitrous oxide emissions were up due to increased fertiliser user
The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector was the source of 93% of methane emissions and 93% of nitrous oxide emissions in 2020.
The CSO said that a small increase in nitrous oxide emissions was mainly due to an increase in fertiliser use, while the increase in CO2 emissions was mainly due to increased use of lime on agricultural soil.
The report highlights that the biggest fall in emissions in 2020 was from the services sector – which includes air and road transport services – which dropped by 49%.
The CSO said the “decrease arose from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on foreign air travel”.
Clare O’Hara, statistician in the CSO environment and climate division said:
“GHG emissions by resident units decreased by 17% in 2020, falling from 76.7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2019 to 63.4 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2020.
“The term ‘resident units’ is used to describe economic units of a country which has engaged for at least one year in economic activity in that territory.”
According to the CSO, a resident unit could be a farm, a company or a household.
GHG emissions
The CSO environmental accounts report sets out that the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector produced 34% of GHG emissions in Ireland in 2020.
A total of 27% of GHG emissions came from the industry sector, while the services sector accounted for 20% of GHG emissions and the remaining 19% was produced by households.
GHG emissions from agriculture, forestry and fishing hit their highest levels between 2010-2020 and in 2018 produced 22.1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Emissions from the sector increased in each year from 2015 to 2018 then dropped by 4% in 2019 but rose again by 1% to 21.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2020.