The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today (Tuesday, July 9) published its provisional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for Ireland for 2023.

The figures show a reduction of 6.8% compared to 2022, with emission reductions in almost all sectors.

This publication provides early insight into the annual GHG emissions in advance of final data being submitted to the EU and UN in 2025.

In total, 55 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) were emitted, excluding emissions from Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF).

Commenting on the report Laura Burke, director general, EPA said: “Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 were at their lowest level in over three decades, as a result of the largest reduction in emissions outside of recession.

“These are significant findings that signal the impact of climate action and decarbonisation measures across Ireland’s economy and society.

“We see the impact of more renewables and interconnection powering electricity, less fossil fuel use in home heating, reduced nitrogen fertiliser use in agriculture and more biofuel in transport.

“The data indicates a move towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the scale and pace required to meet our climate ambition of a 51% reduction by 2030.”

However, the EPA has stressed that while these are positive results for the year 2023, Ireland is still “well off track” in terms of meeting EU and national 2030 targets.

EPA data on 2023 GHG emissions

The assessment shows that Ireland complied with its EU Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) commitments for 2021-2023, with the use of allowed flexibilities.

However, these latest data show that 2023 GHG emissions were still only 10.1% below 2005 levels, well short of Ireland’s commitment of 42% by 2030.

With regard to compliance with national commitments under the Climate Act 2015 (as amended), the assessment shows that GHG emissions (including LULUCF) are 7.8% lower than in 2018, well off the National Climate Ambition of a 51% reduction by 2030.

The EPA has said that we need to achieve an extremely challenging annual reduction of 8.3% for each of the years 2024 and 2025 if Ireland is to stay within the first Carbon Budget.

Key trends

Agriculture: Agriculture emissions decreased by 4.6% to 20.8 Mt CO2E due to an 18% reduction in fertiliser nitrogen use, reduced lime application and overall reduction in numbers of livestock.

Dairy cow numbers increased by 0.6%, however total milk production decreased by 4.7% in 2023, according to the EPA report.

Energy industries: Emissions decreased by 21.6% to 7.8 Mt CO2e. This was driven by a 12-fold increase in imported electricity (9.5% of electricity supply in 2023), in combination with an increase in the share of renewable energy (to 40.7% in 2023) and a reduction in the use of coal, oil and peat.

The emissions intensity of power generation decreased from 332g CO2/kWh in 2022 to a historic low of 255g CO2/kWh in 2023.

Million tonnes CO2e	2022	2023	% change 2022-2023
Agriculture	21.795	20.782	-4.6%
Transport	11.760	11.791	0.3%
Energy industries	10.003	7.845	-21.6%
Residential	5.753	5.346	-7.1%
Manufacturing combustion	4.334	4.133	-4.6%
Industrial processes	2.288	2.155	-5.8%
F-gases	0.741	0.699	-5.7%
Commercial services	0.751	0.732	-2.5%
Public services	0.696	0.677	-2.7%
Waste	0.881	0.846	-4.0%
LULUCF	3.983	5.614	40.9%
National total excluding LULUCF	59.003	55.007	-6.8%
National total including LULUCF	62.986	60.620	-3.8%

Provisional GHG emissions for 2022 and 2023 for Ireland. Source: EPA

Residential: Emissions decreased by 7% to 5.3 Mt CO2e. This was the second substantial annual reduction in succession.

High fuel prices and a milder winter were significant contributors to the reduction in fossil fuel use, in addition to the introduction of nationwide solid fuel regulations.

Over 30,000 heat-pumps were installed in Irish homes in 2023 bringing the total to 120,000.

Transport: Emissions increased marginally by 0.3% to 11.8 Mt CO2e. Emissions are now 4.3% below 2019 pre-Covid-19 levels.

An increase in electric vehicles and biofuel use partly offset a 3% increase in the vehicle fleet.

Programme manager, EPA Mary Frances Rochford said: “There are many positives to be taken from this assessment. We see emission reduction milestones achieved in many key sectors in 2023.

“Residential emissions were at their lowest level since 1990, we saw the largest year-on-year reductions to date in the energy and agriculture sectors.

“All of which have contributed to a decrease in our emissions per capita from 11.4t to 10.4t CO2e in 2023.”

Agricultural figures

In line with new research in the latest update to the inventory, the EPA said it has refined the information underpinning the agricultural figures which has led to an 8.5 Mt CO2e reduction in emissions from agricultural activities from 2018-2023.

The EPA added that is “imperative” that this is now incorporated into carbon budgets to ensure that they reflect latest science, data and knowledge on GHG emissions in Ireland.

EPA data on 2023 GHG emissions

Key trends

Agricultural figures

Related Stories:

Tesco invests in 50 biomethane-fuelled trucks

€1.4m for major research project on reducing GHGs in agriculture

Delivering improved levels of sustainability in beef sector

niotrogen

Reduction in N fertiliser contributes to 6.8% drop in GHG emissions