Environmental Indicators Ireland 2019

In 2017, Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions were 60.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. This was a reduction compared with the peak average annual emissions of 68.8 million tonnes in 2000-2004, but was 7.9% higher than the 1990-1994 average of 56.3 million tonnes.

In 2017, Ireland ranked ninth worst out of 28 EU Member States in terms of its total greenhouse gas emissions at 88.5 relative to the base year of 2005=100. 

In 2017, Ireland had the third highest emissions of greenhouse gases per capita in the EU at 13.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per capita. Ireland’s emissions were 51% higher than the EU28 average of 8.8 tonnes. Estonia and Luxembourg had the highest level of CO₂ emissions per capita in 2017 at 16 and 20.2 tonnes respectively. Sweden had the lowest rate of emissions in 2017 at 5.5 tonnes per capita.

Agriculture was the sector with the largest greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland over the 1990-2017 period with 33% of the total in 2017.

The transport share of greenhouse gas emissions doubled from an average annual 10% in 1990-1994 to 20% in 2017. The energy sector’s share of greenhouse gas emissions remained relatively stable over the 1990-2017 period. In 2017 it was the third largest sectoral contributor to emissions with 19% of the total.

Average annual temperature in Ireland over the 1961-2018 period varied between 8.2 ⁰Celsius in 1963 and 1986 and 10.4 ⁰Celsius in 2007. The average annual temperature in 2018 was 10.1 ⁰Celsius.

Average annual rainfall in Ireland over the 1941-2018 period varied between 912 millimetres in 1971 and 1,506 millimetres in 2009. The average rainfall figure in 2018 was 1,224 millimetres.