Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions decreased in 2022 compared with the previous year, according to a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Total emissions were 1.9% lower due to decreases in the residential, agricultural and energy sectors.
However, emissions from the transport sector increased by 6%.
The EPA’s latest assessment of annual greenhouse gas emissions has found that small progress in reducing harmful emissions has been made, but Ireland is still falling short of the reductions required to meet national and EU targets.
Overall, emissions dropped by 1.9% in 2022 compared with 2021 levels.
In the energy sector, emissions fell by 1.8% as a result less coal, oil and peat being burned for power generation.
Coal use was down 16%, oil fell by 29% and peat decreased by 25%.
However, some of these reductions were offset by an increase in the burning of natural gas.
Renewable electricity also contributed to the overall sectoral reduction. It amounted to 38.6% of the electricity generated, which is an increase of more than 3% compared to 2021.
For the full report, see www.rte.ie
