The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 may have had an impact on the trend in some of the indicators (such as emissions to air, transport and energy) in this publication.
Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions were 60.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2022. This was down from 62 million tonnes in 2021 but was 9.2% higher than the 1990 figure of 55.6 million tonnes.
| Year | Total national emissions |
|---|---|
| 1990-1994 | 56.9139125763548 |
| 1995-1999 | 63.9651170343126 |
| 2000-2004 | 70.3393481229015 |
| 2005-2009 | 69.0716384814187 |
| 2010-2014 | 60.1653101955432 |
| 0 | |
| 2015 | 61.7011490526731 |
| 2016 | 63.9670634039843 |
| 2017 | 63.3736514490166 |
| 2018 | 63.6675526173786 |
| 2019 | 61.0830205134266 |
| 2020 | 58.9448336543832 |
| 2021 | 61.9546361585173 |
| 2022 | 60.7638281677884 |
Ireland ranked fifth worst out of 27 EU Member States in terms of its total greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 with an index of 86.8 relative to the base year of 2005=100. Greece had the best performance with an index of 56.7 in 2021 relative to 100 in the base year of 2005, and Poland the worst at 99.7.
In 2021, Ireland had the second highest emissions of greenhouse gases per capita in the EU27 at 12.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per capita. Ireland’s emissions were 59% higher than the EU27 average of 7.8 tonnes. Luxembourg had the highest level of greenhouse gas emissions per capita in 2021 at 14.7 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, while Malta had the lowest rate of emissions in 2021 at 4.1 tonnes.
| Country | CO2 equivalent per capita |
|---|---|
| Malta | 4.11469984726229 |
| Sweden | 4.59078030505738 |
| Portugal | 5.45500404320433 |
| Latvia | 5.69815706106161 |
| Romania | 6.03507969513116 |
| Spain | 6.09180603408223 |
| France | 6.12122320329594 |
| Croatia | 6.19001704086516 |
| Hungary | 6.61365199671139 |
| Italy | 7.06188098514517 |
| Lithuania | 7.24489340515467 |
| Greece | 7.33156517797409 |
| Denmark | 7.48730222122129 |
| Slovakia | 7.57633351305715 |
| Slovenia | 7.64035882905717 |
| EU27 | 7.76832522853132 |
| Bulgaria | 7.84928137035653 |
| Finland | 8.63669070136403 |
| Austria | 8.65722503535978 |
| Germany | 9.13934921307228 |
| Estonia | 9.47844818518151 |
| Netherlands | 9.56228136996633 |
| Belgium | 9.57620081484905 |
| Cyprus | 9.71191395403596 |
| Poland | 10.5951809732577 |
| Czechia | 11.3304990818381 |
| Ireland | 12.3401244227289 |
| Luxembourg | 14.671548470153 |
Agriculture was the sector with the highest greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland over the 1990-2022 period accounting for 38% of the total CO2 equivalent in 2022.
The transport share of greenhouse gas emissions increased from 9% in 1990 to 19% in 2022. The energy sector’s share of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 was the third largest sectoral contributor to emissions with 17% of the total.
| Year | Agriculture | Transport | Energy | Industry, commercial and public services | Residential | Waste and F gases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-1994 | 36.9089550790575 | 9.81107198140045 | 21.3722350878707 | 15.9185814734441 | 12.5910587741344 | 3.39809760409281 |
| 1995-1999 | 35.6548670218864 | 12.5197475373252 | 23.0395952194036 | 14.6512098210229 | 10.8696167475247 | 3.26496365283729 |
| 2000-2004 | 31.2008749072512 | 16.3920120982249 | 23.3584383146493 | 14.5699325566875 | 10.8001925789837 | 3.67854954420333 |
| 2005-2009 | 30.3747499480993 | 19.5105851776379 | 21.3479177919361 | 13.3055319230053 | 12.2651581538444 | 3.19605700547703 |
| 2010-2014 | 33.9520944358344 | 18.5966222825764 | 20.3749522338158 | 11.6081291477719 | 12.3926932052212 | 3.07550869478038 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 34.3512426152681 | 19.1414897017511 | 19.3720011118721 | 12.697239301056 | 10.8447053131661 | 3.59332195688652 |
| 2016 | 34.0117050286093 | 19.2169628787966 | 19.8155295663862 | 12.4701231849098 | 10.9067336570674 | 3.57894568423069 |
| 2017 | 35.5399858467278 | 18.9567626230918 | 18.7894461505427 | 12.8594570275514 | 10.4116332671651 | 3.44271508492119 |
| 2018 | 36.7429759763325 | 19.1437912484987 | 16.7231976804101 | 13.3871444471774 | 11.1418254086347 | 2.86106523894655 |
| 2019 | 36.7917162241478 | 19.9671694700038 | 15.4497155018978 | 13.7203159879857 | 11.1718615715994 | 2.89922124436553 |
| 2020 | 38.6900926037302 | 17.4750472779341 | 14.8229652465848 | 13.7164155027455 | 12.6086449796072 | 2.68683438939818 |
| 2021 | 38.1341782504645 | 17.7188909887626 | 16.5636155497211 | 13.7612494879165 | 11.2856974366098 | 2.5363682865255 |
| 2022 | 38.4061726235997 | 19.1462088996589 | 16.5828220009012 | 13.1705316685875 | 10.0472120214537 | 2.64705278579892 |
The highest average annual temperature in Ireland over the 1961-2022 period occurred in 2022 at 10.61° Celsius. The lowest occurred in 1986 when the average annual temperature was 8.2° Celsius.
| Year | Average annual temperature |
|---|---|
| 1961 | 9.22 |
| 1962 | 8.5 |
| 1963 | 8.23 |
| 1964 | 9.27 |
| 1965 | 8.55 |
| 1966 | 9.13 |
| 1967 | 8.98 |
| 1968 | 9.09 |
| 1969 | 8.8 |
| 1970 | 9.13 |
| 1971 | 9.58 |
| 1972 | 8.71 |
| 1973 | 9.38 |
| 1974 | 8.95 |
| 1975 | 9.57 |
| 1976 | 9.33 |
| 1977 | 9.07 |
| 1978 | 9.19 |
| 1979 | 8.35 |
| 1980 | 9 |
| 1981 | 9.16 |
| 1982 | 9.34 |
| 1983 | 9.62 |
| 1984 | 9.26 |
| 1985 | 8.61 |
| 1986 | 8.2 |
| 1987 | 8.94 |
| 1988 | 9.36 |
| 1989 | 9.77 |
| 1990 | 9.81 |
| 1991 | 9.43 |
| 1992 | 9.37 |
| 1993 | 9.19 |
| 1994 | 9.45 |
| 1995 | 10.12 |
| 1996 | 9.16 |
| 1997 | 10.27 |
| 1998 | 10.07 |
| 1999 | 10.02 |
| 2000 | 9.67 |
| 2001 | 9.55 |
| 2002 | 9.96 |
| 2003 | 10.07 |
| 2004 | 10.01 |
| 2005 | 10.2 |
| 2006 | 10.25 |
| 2007 | 10.41 |
| 2008 | 9.65 |
| 2009 | 9.65 |
| 2010 | 8.63 |
| 2011 | 9.96 |
| 2012 | 9.74 |
| 2013 | 9.75 |
| 2014 | 10.22 |
| 2015 | 9.66 |
| 2016 | 9.98 |
| 2017 | 10.26 |
| 2018 | 10.09 |
| 2019 | 10.2 |
| 2020 | 10.14 |
| 2021 | 10.37 |
| 2022 | 10.61 |
The average annual rainfall in Ireland over the 1941-2022 period varied between 912 millimetres in 1971 and 1,506 millimetres in 2009. The average rainfall figure in 2022 was 1,268 millimetres.
| Year | Average annual rainfall |
|---|---|
| 1941 | 1025 |
| 1942 | 1165.23 |
| 1943 | 1193.92 |
| 1944 | 1173.51 |
| 1945 | 1132.79 |
| 1946 | 1307.73 |
| 1947 | 1304.03 |
| 1948 | 1315.21 |
| 1949 | 1137.84 |
| 1950 | 1311.88 |
| 1951 | 1269.99 |
| 1952 | 991.43 |
| 1953 | 1019.17 |
| 1954 | 1383.67 |
| 1955 | 1045.76 |
| 1956 | 1157.8 |
| 1957 | 1175.59 |
| 1958 | 1333.09 |
| 1959 | 1145.71 |
| 1960 | 1408.03 |
| 1961 | 1157.58 |
| 1962 | 1110.29 |
| 1963 | 1114.71 |
| 1964 | 1168.98 |
| 1965 | 1290.58 |
| 1966 | 1309.29 |
| 1967 | 1199 |
| 1968 | 1202.08 |
| 1969 | 995.36 |
| 1970 | 1182.1 |
| 1971 | 911.83 |
| 1972 | 1129.09 |
| 1973 | 1094.38 |
| 1974 | 1253.23 |
| 1975 | 991.04 |
| 1976 | 1065.21 |
| 1977 | 1241.61 |
| 1978 | 1160.48 |
| 1979 | 1265.1 |
| 1980 | 1293.89 |
| 1981 | 1226.54 |
| 1982 | 1338.19 |
| 1983 | 1189.98 |
| 1984 | 1151.72 |
| 1985 | 1245.67 |
| 1986 | 1372.99 |
| 1987 | 1081.66 |
| 1988 | 1322.71 |
| 1989 | 1166.73 |
| 1990 | 1290.37 |
| 1991 | 1158.48 |
| 1992 | 1227.91 |
| 1993 | 1266.83 |
| 1994 | 1395.23 |
| 1995 | 1225.8 |
| 1996 | 1185.27 |
| 1997 | 1236.77 |
| 1998 | 1400.6 |
| 1999 | 1336.51 |
| 2000 | 1345.82 |
| 2001 | 1002.43 |
| 2002 | 1459.21 |
| 2003 | 1034.94 |
| 2004 | 1182.52 |
| 2005 | 1146.99 |
| 2006 | 1303.34 |
| 2007 | 1183.58 |
| 2008 | 1415.08 |
| 2009 | 1506.1 |
| 2010 | 1054.37 |
| 2011 | 1274.17 |
| 2012 | 1312.43 |
| 2013 | 1195.12 |
| 2014 | 1394.11 |
| 2015 | 1503.64 |
| 2016 | 1175.12 |
| 2017 | 1242.58 |
| 2018 | 1223.32 |
| 2019 | 1369.6 |
| 2020 | 1486.3 |
| 2021 | 1218.6 |
| 2022 | 1268 |
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.