What Are Greenhouse Gas Emissions Like in Ireland?
Sorting out greenhouse gas emissions is imperative for fighting climate change. With the window rapidly closing, the need to reduce Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions is getting more and more urgent, and understanding what we can do to contribute to reducing them. In our greenhouse gas emissions guide, we’ll walk you through what greenhouse gases are and what they’re like in Ireland.
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What Are Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
Greenhouse gas emissions are the release of particular gases into the atmosphere that trap the heat from the sun to keep our planet warm. Greenhouse gases are mostly caused by human activity - also known as anthropogenic climate change - such as the burning of fossil fuels for energy, transport, and deforestation. There are other non-human sources of greenhouse gas emissions such as volcanic eruptions.
What Is the Greenhouse Effect?
The greenhouse effect is a natural process where the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap the heat from the sun from escaping into space. The way it works is that the sun’s light enters the atmosphere along with ultraviolet radiation and is then reflected back into the atmosphere by the surface (usually by the ice caps).
The radiation that is reflected from the Earth’s surface is then absorbed by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which in turn re-reflects some of it back, trapping it in the atmosphere. This is how the atmosphere regulates the Earth's temperature. With a greater buildup of greenhouse gases, the less radiation escapes and the more heat is trapped in the atmosphere.
What Are the Main Greenhouse Gases?
The main greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are carbon dioxide (CO2), methene (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and fluorinated gases (or F-gases). Each of these gases contributes to the greenhouse effect in different ways are come from different sources:
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Carbon dioxide is by far the largest greenhouse gas out of them all and makes up the largest chunk. Burning fossil fuels is a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions, as well as deforestation and other human activities such as manufacturing. - Methene (CH4)
Methane largely comes from agriculture through keeping large amounts of livestock that release the gas in large quantities. Methane is also commonly emitted from waste management and burning biomass, as well as termites! - Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
Nitrous oxide is also caused by agriculture but this time from using fertiliser. It is also usually caused by other industrial processes that require synthetic gases. - Fluorinated Gases (F-gases)
Fluorinated gases are used for many different household products and appliances such as refrigerators. F-gases make up the smallest part of the greenhouse gases.
Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Last Updated: 29/03/2023
What’s the difference between greenhouse gas and carbon emissions? Although they are sometimes used interchangeably, greenhouse gas emissions and carbon emissions refer to quite different things. Whereas carbon emissions refers to carbon dioxide emissions, greenhouse gases covers all the above gases. However, the standard when it comes to measuring those gases is to use carbon equivalence, measuring the amount of gas to their impact if they were carbon dioxide.
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What Is the Impact of Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
Greenhouse gas emissions have a tremendous impact on both the environment and our daily lives. From climate change to air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions cause a lot of damage that is getting harder and harder to contain.
What Are the Environmental Impacts of Emissions?
Here are the main impacts of greenhouse gas emissions are on the environment:
- Climate Change
Climate change is of course the greatest impact of rising greenhouse gas emissions. The rising temperatures is responsible for the ongoing increases in extreme weather such as hurricanes and floods as well as heatwaves. Climate change is also dramatically impacting biodiversity causing extinctions of animal and plant life. - Ocean Acidification
Greenhouse gas emissions are absorbed into the oceans which makes them more acidic. This is having a devastating effect on sealife and corals, all of which are essential for maintaining world’s temperatures. - Ice Caps Melting
The increased heat in the atmosphere means that glacial ice caps at either end of the poles are melting. This will have a big impact on habitats for the animals that live there as well as cause rising sea levels. - Weather Pattern Changes
Weather pattern changes are also a big impact from increased greenhouse gas emissions. Irregular rainfall can lead to droughts and floods, impacting crops, energy production, and drinking water availability.
How Are the Health Impacts of Emissions?
Here are the main impact of greenhouse gas emissions on health:
- Air Pollution
Air pollution from cars and other petrol-based transport is having a major impact on our health. The exposure to the pollution - especially in cities - can lead to cardiovascular disease and cancers, as well as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. - Heat-Related Illnesses
Increase in heatwaves and droughts can have large health impacts such as heat exhaustion and heatstroke, as well as dehydration from the lack of water. - Increased Risk of Diseases
Increased temperatures precludes an increase in the number of insects that carry various diseases. Mosquitos and ticks can spread illnesses such as malaria and dengue fever much further afield. - Food and Water Security
With the changes in the weather, the increased uncertainty can affect our food and water supplies. Harvests can become more irregular and lead to malnutrition, as well as other diseases such as cholera.
What Are Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Ireland Like?
Greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland are a little different than the rest of Europe since a significant percentage of the emissions comes from agriculture. According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), agriculture was responsible for 37.5% of all Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, which was around 22,507 kilotons of CO2.
Where Do the Ireland Greenhouse Emissions Come From?
Like any other country, Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions come from many different sources. Traditionally, the sources of fossil fuels are broken in four different sectors: Agriculture, Energy Related Non-ETS, Other Non-ETS, and ETS. Here’s where Ireland greenhouse gas emissions came from in 2021:
Source: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)
Last Updated: 29/03/2023
What does ETS mean? In Europe, there are two sectors from which emissions can come from. The ETS section is related to those emissions from industries that use the Emissions Trading System (ETS) to buy carbon credits. These are usually big corporations, industries and electricity producers. The Non-ETS sector involves smaller companies, households, and cars.
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What’s Ireland’s Plan for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
Ireland was one of the signatories to the Paris Agreement in 2015 which established fresh aims for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to help curb climate change. Since then, Ireland has together a series of Climate Action Plans to help deal with Ireland’s emissions but only to varying degrees.
Has Ireland Reduced Its Greenhouse Gas Emission?
Ireland unfortunately has not been hitting its targets for its greenhouse gas emissions and in fact increased them by 5.4% in 2021. This meant that 1.8 megatons more of CO2 was produced in Ireland over 2020. However, it’s important to note that this increase was following a large decrease in 2020 due to the lockdowns, but the emissions in 2021 still surpassed the amount in 2019.
Source: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)
Last Updated: 29/03/2023
From 2006, Ireland has managed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by almost 10,000 megatons. This means that although it’s been a bit rocky for the last couple of years, we’re still making progress!
Check Out Our Carbon Emission Reduction Guide!
What Is in the Climate Action Plan 2023?
The Climate Action Plan has been annually updated since 2019 to provide Ireland with a detailed plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop renewable energy solutions by 2030. In December 2022, the government announced its Climate Action Plan 2023, which included a more accelerated approach than previous years to get Ireland back on track with its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
Here’s what’s included in the Climate Action Plan 2023:
- Investment in Renewable Energy
The government plans to scale up investment and support for renewable energy in Ireland, including greater use of offshore and onshore wind farms, as well as solar energy. They also plan to phase out coal completely and launch a new Green Electricity Tariff. The ban on fracking will remain. The aim is to achieve a 75% reduction in emissions by 2030. - Increasing Building Efficiency
Part of the plan is to increase the efficiency of buildings across Ireland. The main aim is going to be to upgrade homes and commercial buildings to a B2 BER Rating and invest extensively in heat pumps. The objective is to achieve a 45% reduction for commercial properties and a 45% reduction for homes by 2030. - Changing Travel
In changing our travel habits, the government wants walking, public transport, and cycling to be around 50% of our journey, and also increase the number of electric cars on the roads. The emissions aim is a 50% reduction by 2030. - Sustainable Farms
The government wants there to be an increase in organic farming to up to 450,000 hectares and reduce the use of damaging chemicals in fertilisers. They also want to help farms’ energy needs as well as promote reforestation. The aim is to reduce emissions by 25% in 2030. - Greener Businesses
The government aims to help businesses become greener by decreasing the amount of carbon used in construction and reducing fossil fuel use to promote the circular economy. This will help reduce emissions by 35% for 2030.
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What Can We Do To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
In Ireland, there are many things that the government should do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but there are also some very effective ways we can reduce our emissions at home. There is also help available for helping you make your homes even greener!
How Can We Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions at Home?
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions at home is all a matter of changing your habits. These are small changes you can make to help you do your bit for the environment:
- Save on Energy
Changing your energy habits can help enormously with reducing your carbon footprint at home. Just make sure your lights are off when you're not using them, and make sure your TV and other devices are not on standby. The great thing is that you can also save money on your energy bills at the same time! - Save on Water
Water is a precious resource so not wasting it is very important for reducing your impact on the environment. Brush your teeth without leaving the tap running and take showers to make sure you're saving as much water as possible. - Reduce Waste
Try and reduce the amount of waste you throw out and remember to recycle if you can. This helps reduce plastic usage and the greenhouse gas emissions that go into making them. - Take Public Transport
If you can, you should take public transport to make sure you’re not contributing to air pollution with your car. Using public transport is really effective in reducing your carbon footprint.
What Government Help Is There To Reduce Emissions?
There is also a lot of help available from the government to make renewable energy upgrades to your home to improve your energy usage at home. You can apply for an SEAI grant for the following:
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