Ireland’s emissions fell by 2% in 2024 – but the EPA says the country remains “well short” of its legally binding climate goals.
In a press release issued this morning, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed that total greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent last year, with reductions recorded in energy, agriculture, transport and industry. However, heating-related emissions increased, and Ireland’s overall progress remains significantly below required levels.
“Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions have declined for three years in a row,” said EPA Director General Laura Burke.
Nonetheless, she stressed that the cuts remain inadequate to meet legal targets.
“While the 2024 data is moving in the right direction in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it is not at the necessary scale and pace to achieve our EU targets or the National Climate commitments,” she said.
“For example, if Ireland is to meet our first carbon budget, a further 10 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is needed in 2025, which will be extremely challenging.”
Under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, Ireland is legally bound to cut total emissions by 51% by 2030 relative to 2018 levels. As of last year, emissions were just 12% below that 2018 benchmark.
On the EU level, Ireland is required to slash emissions from agriculture, transport and heating by 42% by 2030 relative to 2005 levels.
The release reads: “2024 greenhouse gas emissions were 11 per cent below 2005 levels, well short of Ireland’s EU Effort Sharing reduction commitment of 42% by 2030.”
Senior EPA manager Dr Tomas Murray also pointed to the scale of the challenge ahead.
“Some sectors face greater challenges to decarbonise than others,” he said.
“In particular, based on this assessment, both Agriculture and Transport each require significant reductions of 5.6 and 15.5%, respectively, in 2025 to meet their indicative percentage reduction targets.”
He added: “The national climate objective of a 51% reduction by 2030 will be unattainable unless every sector meets their reduction target and sectoral ceiling.”
According to the EPA, Ireland’s total emissions for 2024 were 54 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, excluding land use and forestry. Including those sectors, emissions were estimated at 57.65 million tonnes – still well above the level of reduction sought by the State.
Notably, the statement notes that agriculture emissions decreased by 1.7%, or 0.3 Mt CO2eq, in 2024. This was primarily due to a 2.9% reduction in cattle numbers, it says.
In contrast there was a 10.6 per cent increase in nitrogen fertiliser use.
According to the latest available figures from the EU’s Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR), Ireland’s overall greenhouse gas emissions are 0.1% of the world’s total.
Earlier this year, a joint report from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Climate Change Advisory Council warned that Ireland could be forced to pay anywhere between €8 billion and €26 billion purchasing carbon credits from other countries if it fails to meet the climate obligations it has agreed to, which experts say it will based on the current trajectory.
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