This air emissions accounts release reports data on residence principle emissions by NACE sector.
Residence principle emissions are emissions by resident units of the Irish economy. They differ from territorial principle emissions, which are emissions produced on the territory of Ireland. Territorial principle emissions are reported annually by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and are used to determine whether Ireland has met its legally binding emissions targets.
Residence principle emissions are calculated from territorial principle emissions by removing transport emissions from non-resident units on the territory of Ireland, and by adding transport emissions by Irish resident units abroad. They are compiled using the same principles and classifications as National Accounts to ensure compatibility with economic indicators. Emissions from transport are assigned to the NACE sector of the vehicle operator.
In 2024, greenhouse gas emissions by resident units of Ireland's economy fell by 0.5%, from 73.0 to 72.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Resident units are economic units such as households and businesses, which have engaged for at least one year in economic activity in Ireland.
Greenhouse gas emissions from the Industry sector fell for the third year in a row by around 0.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, or 5.6%, in 2024. This was mainly due to decreases in emissions from electricity generation and cement production. Emissions from the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing sector also fell for the third year in a row and were down 1.6%, or 0.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, in 2024.
After a decrease of 0.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2023, greenhouse gas emissions from the Household sector rose by 0.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, or 2.8%, in 2024, largely as a result of an increase in emissions from household heating. This was the first time since 2018 that greenhouse gas emissions from Households had increased.
The Services sector showed an increase of 2.4%, or 0.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, in 2024, mainly due to a rise in emissions from aviation.
The Services sector had the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions by resident units in 2024 at 34% with the majority of these emissions arising from transport activities, including international aviation and maritime transport.
In 2024, the Services sector was the biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions, making up 48% of the total. The Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing sector produced the majority of the two other main greenhouse gases, methane (94%) and nitrous oxide (87%), in 2024.
Of the seven major air pollutants included in this release, emissions of all but ammonia (NH3) fell in 2024. Emissions of all seven air pollutants fell during the 10-year period from 2015 to 2024, ranging from a decrease of 1% in non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) to a drop of 57% in sulphur oxides.
Households were the biggest source of several air pollutants in 2024, responsible for 75% of carbon monoxide emissions, 70% of sulphur oxide emissions, and 55% of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions, while the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector was the source of 99% of ammonia emissions and 37% of nitrogen oxide emissions.
| Table A Greenhouse Gas Emissions by NACE Sector | |||||||||||||
| Million tonnes CO2 equivalent | Change | % Change | NACE sector share | ||||||||||
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2024/2023 | 2024/2023 | 2024 | ||||||
| Territorial Principle Emissions (EPA) | 57.6 | 60.2 | 59.0 | 55.0 | 53.9 | -1.1 | -1.9% | ||||||
| - Non-resident Activity in Ireland | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.5 | -0.3 | -37.7% | ||||||
| + Irish Resident Activity Abroad | 8.9 | 9.2 | 16.8 | 18.9 | 19.2 | 0.3 | 1.8% | ||||||
| Residence Principle Emissions (SEEA1), of which | 65.9 | 68.4 | 74.9 | 73.0 | 72.6 | -0.4 | -0.5% | ||||||
| Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing | 21.7 | 22.1 | 21.9 | 20.9 | 20.6 | -0.3 | -1.6% | 28% | |||||
| Industry | 17.8 | 19.8 | 19.1 | 16.8 | 15.8 | -0.9 | -5.6% | 22% | |||||
| Services | 13.8 | 14.3 | 22.4 | 24.3 | 24.9 | 0.6 | 2.4% | 34% | |||||
| Households | 12.5 | 12.2 | 11.4 | 11.0 | 11.3 | 0.3 | 2.8% | 16% | |||||
| 1System of Environmental Economic Accounting | |||||||||||||
| Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing | Industry | Services | Households | |
| 2015 | 20.02212028 | 20.37467609493 | 19.466402854 | 13.12815063 |
| 2016 | 20.61990141 | 21.3779983018 | 22.4600712614 | 13.53153574 |
| 2017 | 21.24724358 | 21.06799881022 | 24.7567403956 | 12.88863037 |
| 2018 | 21.52947297 | 20.06465931644 | 26.0377573323 | 13.19566319 |
| 2019 | 21.44736096 | 18.67734103733 | 26.5521267474 | 12.75383545 |
| 2020 | 21.73057224 | 17.75551130383 | 13.8479284848 | 12.5443909 |
| 2021 | 22.11520011 | 19.80404629924 | 14.3418377502 | 12.17862009 |
| 2022 | 21.94996396 | 19.08083088573 | 22.4336056763 | 11.40681989 |
| 2023 | 20.91149952 | 16.76891449832 | 24.2981293437 | 11.01178359 |
| 2024 | 20.57213198 | 15.83028686704 | 24.8716171719 | 11.31920202 |
| Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing | Industry | Services | Households | |
| Carbon dioxide | 1.48467817 | 14.416044104 | 24.362091081 | 11.000297997 |
| Methane | 14.566788088 | 0.79839262976 | 0.02392043063 | 0.11540511906 |
| Nitrous oxide | 4.5173035157 | 0.3136267761 | 0.31850435804 | 0.06784552169 |
| Fluorinated gases | 0.00336220552 | 0.3022233568 | 0.16710130064 | 0.135653377 |
| Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing | Industry | Services | Households | |
| Sulphur oxides | 0.418999844037363 | 23.9198662663646 | 5.28938063000961 | 70.3717532595884 |
| Nitrogen oxides | 37.3598491642817 | 21.3069918808316 | 25.3093144483804 | 16.0238445065062 |
| Ammonia | 99.2198162305939 | 0.198420685882759 | 0.108849079543604 | 0.472914003979677 |
| NMVOC | 37.7084254473785 | 41.3689389428698 | 1.48417121874495 | 19.4384643910068 |
| Carbon monoxide | 1.62733644218891 | 16.7826289347716 | 6.46369389831158 | 75.1263407247279 |
| PM2.5 | 9.8720556993331 | 26.001225648172 | 9.5849664446209 | 54.541752207874 |
| PM10 | 17.0331844898817 | 43.5931576408596 | 7.758784571041 | 31.6148732982177 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (23 June 2026) published Environmental Accounts Air Emissions 2024.
Commenting on the release, Clare O'Hara, Statistician in the Environment Division, said: "This release from the CSO contains data on greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutant emissions by resident units in Ireland from 2015 to 2024. The term resident units is used to describe economic units such as households and businesses, which have engaged for at least one year in economic activity in Ireland. Emissions from resident units, especially from international transport, may occur abroad.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2024
Greenhouse gas emissions by resident units were 72.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2024, which was 0.4 million tonnes, or 0.5%, less than the 2023 figure. Although greenhouse gas emissions from the Services and Household sectors increased in 2024, this was slightly more than offset by decreases in emissions from the Industry sector and the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing sector.
The Services sector was the source of 34% of total greenhouse gas emissions by resident units in Ireland in 2024, primarily due to emissions from transport activities, including international aviation and maritime transport. A further 28% was emitted by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector, 22% by the Industry sector, and the remaining 16% came from the Household sector (See Table A).
Trends in Greenhouse Gas Emissions by NACE Sector, 2015-2024
Between 2015 and 2024, greenhouse gas emissions from Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing increased most years up to 2021 when they were at the highest level of the period at 22.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Annual decreases thereafter brought emissions from this sector to their lowest level since 2015 in 2024, at 20.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
During the same period, greenhouse gas emissions from the Industry sector were at their highest in 2016 at 21.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, and lowest in 2024 when a 6% drop brought emissions to 15.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The decrease in emissions from this sector was mainly driven by a fall in emissions from electricity generation, which dropped 39% over the ten-year period (See Table 1).
The Services sector includes air, water, and road transport services, so it is affected by the residence principle adjustment. Carbon dioxide emissions from Irish airlines and ships operating internationally have a large impact on the level of emissions attributed to the Services sector. Greenhouse gas emissions from this sector rose each year from 2016 to 2019 inclusive and were at their highest in 2019 at 26.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. They were at their lowest in 2020 at 13.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent when emissions from air transport fell due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A 56% increase in 2022 and a further 8% rise in 2023 were mainly due to emissions from aviation as air transport activity increased after the pandemic. In 2024, emissions from this sector rose 2% to 24.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Greenhouse gas emissions from Households rose 3% in 2024 to 11.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. This was the second-lowest level of emissions from Households between 2015 and 2024, with the lowest level of 11.0 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent occurring in 2023. Household emissions are mainly due to transport in private cars and heating. In 2024, heating emissions were up 5% and emissions from private household cars were up 2% on 2023 (See Figure 1 and Table 1).
Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Gas and NACE Sector
In 2024, 48% of carbon dioxide emissions were from the Services sector, 28% were emitted by Industry, and 21% came from Households, while the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector was the source of 94% of methane emissions and 87% of nitrous oxide emissions (See Figure 2 and Tables 2-4). Fluorinated gas emissions were 1% of total greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 (See Table 5).
Territorial and Residence Principle Emissions
Territorial greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2% to 54 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2024. Territorial emissions are emissions produced on the territory of Ireland. They are reported annually by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and are used to determine whether Ireland has met its legally binding emissions targets.
Residence principle emissions are calculated from territorial principle emissions by removing transport emissions from non-resident units on the territory of Ireland, and by adding transport emissions by Irish resident units abroad (See Table 7). Examples can be found in the Background Notes of the release.
Air Pollutant Emissions
Emissions of all air pollutants except ammonia decreased in 2024. Air pollutants affect the air we breathe and can have harmful impacts on human health. In 2024, the Household sector was the source of 75% of carbon monoxide emissions, 70% of sulphur oxide emissions, and 55% of fine particular matter (PM2.5) emissions. The Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector was the source of 99% of ammonia emissions (See Figure 3 and Tables 8-14)."