Agricultural emissions fell by 1.2% last year driven by reduced fertiliser use which offset the impact of a rise in livestock numbers, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said.
The use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser declined by 14.0% to 343,000t, provisional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for Ireland for 2022 published today (Friday, July 14) show.
This resulted in 0.44 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e) less emissions from agriculture, and offset a 0.9% rise in dairy cow numbers last year.
Agriculture accounts for the majority of Ireland’s GHG emissions at 38.4% and 23.3Mt CO2e, followed by the transport sector (19.1%) and energy and industries (16.6%).
Agricultural emissions
Methane (CH4) emissions accounted for the biggest share at 71.2%, up by 0.4% on 2021. Contributing 22.8% to total emissions, a 7.5% drop in nitrous oxide (N2O) reflects less fertiliser use.
CO2 emissions from liming, urea application and fuel combustion accounted for 6.0% of total agricultural emissions in 2022, which reflects a 6% increase, figures show.
Liming on soils rose by 4.4% last year, using 1.42 million tonnes of lime. This “welcome measure” in improving soil fertility, the EPA said, should lead to less fertiliser nitrogen use in future years.
Ireland has committed to a 51% economy-wide GHG emissions reduction target by 2030 based on 2018 levels. As part of this, the agriculture sector must cut its emissions by 25% by 2030.
The sector has already used 44% of the 2021-2025 carbon budget, and therefore annual emissions reductions of 8% are now required from 2023-2025 to stay within the carbon budget.
In 2022, total cattle and sheep numbers increased by 0.5% and 4.2% respectively, while pig and poultry numbers dropped by 5.9% and 2.0% respectively, according to the EPA.
Between 1990 and 2022, emissions were up by 14.0% which was mainly due to a 18.4% rise in methane from enteric fermentation and a 27.6% rise in emissions from manure management.
In the last decade, dairy cow numbers have risen by 42.5% with a corresponding milk production increase of 68.6%. Sheep, pig and poultry numbers rose by 14.7%, 4.6%, and 20.4% respectively.
Since 2011, agricultural emissions have trended upwards reaching an overall peak in 2021. Fossil fuel combustion emissions from agriculture, forestry, and fishing have fallen by 963% since 1990.
Ireland’s GHG emissions
Ireland’s total GHG emissions fell by 1.9% or 1.19Mt CO2e in 2022 compared to 2021. Emissions dropped in all key sectors except transport which increased by 6%, the EPA said.
Provisional national total emissions, including Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF), were 68.07Mt CO2e in 2022. This is 2.7% below the 2018 reference year for Ireland’s national climate objective.
A total 47% of Ireland’s 2021-2025 carbon budget was used in the first two years. An “extremely challenging” 12.4% reduction is now needed for each of the remaining years, the EPA said.
While an overall emissions reduction is “welcome”, and it is “encouraging” to see the impact of action across key economic sectors, EPA director general, Laura Burke said:
“This decrease in emissions needs to be significantly ramped up.”
Faster progress on the actions in national climate action plans to decarbonise all sectors of Ireland’s economy are needed to stay within the carbon budgets and reach the 2030 target, Burke said.
Mt CO2e 2021 2022 % change 2021-2022 Agriculture 23.626 23.337 -1.2 Transport 10.978 11.634 6.0 Energy industries 10.262 10.076 -1.8 Residential 6.992 6.105 -12.7 Manufacturing combustion 4.614 4.288 -7.1 Industrial processes 2.475 2.289 -7.5 F-Gases (used in refrigeration, air conditioning and semiconductor manufacture) 0.745 0.741 -0.5 Commercial services 0.765 0.767 0.2 Public services 0.672 0.659 -1.9 Waste 0.726 0.867 4.9 LULUCF 7.338 7.305 -0.5 National Total excluding LULUCF 61.955 60.764 -1.9 National Total including LULUCF 69.293 68.069 -1.8
The report also notes that Ireland exceeded its 2022 annual limit under the EU’s Effort Sharing Regulation. Ireland’s commitment increased from a 30% reduction on the 2005 level by 2030, to 42% earlier this year.
LULUCF
The LULUCF sector accounted for 10.7% of total emissions in 2022, down by 0.5%. The main source of emissions is from grasslands on organic soils that have been drained for agricultural production.
Net grassland emissions were 6.8Mt CO2e in 2022 while forest land became a net source in 2022 at 0.4Mt CO2e as more trees reached harvesting age, figures show.
The sector covers the following categories: Forest land, cropland, grassland, wetlands, settlements, other land and harvested wood products, the EPA said.
A positive figure recorded for the sector, which can function as a sink for emissions, means that soils, trees, plants, biomass, and timber emit more CO2 than they remove from the atmosphere.
While national total emissions are typically presented without LULUCF, the EPA said that for the purpose of assessment against the National Climate Act target, it is necessary to include the sector.