EPA send warning despite falling greenhouse gas emissions

Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions fell for the fourth consecutive year in 2025, declining by 2.2% to leave emissions 14.5% below 2018 levels, according to new figures from the Environmental Protection Agency.

However, the agency warns the pace of reductions remains far too slow to meet the country’s legally binding climate targets for 2030.

The EPA said annual emissions need to fall four-and-a-half times faster than they did last year if Ireland is to meet its legally binding climate targets for 2030.

The agency warns that achieving this will be extremely challenging.

The national target is to ensure that by 2030 greenhouse gas emissions from all activities in Ireland will be 51% lower than they were in 2018.

Despite the progress made over the past four years, emissions remain well above the legally binding target, with just four years remaining to achieve it.

The Government has promised additional climate measures are in the pipeline, including more electric vehicles, more heat pumps, fewer cattle, and more renewable electricity alongside increased electricity imports.

But the EPA says that even if all of these promised measures are implemented on time, the maximum reduction Ireland is projected to achieve by 2030 is 25%.

'Look at the choices you're making in your home'

Eimear Cotter, Director General of the EPA, is urging the Government to accelerate climate action and deliver much deeper annual emissions reductions to meet its climate targets.

She also highlighted how the public can help.

"Look at the choices that you're making in your home. Is it an option for you to look at your power supplier and switch to one supplying more renewable energy?

"When you're looking at changing your own vehicle, could you look at a more efficient vehicle? Is an electric car an option for you? Is public transport an option? That is not available for everyone, so is walking or cycling an option if you live in an urban area?

"Reduce your food waste. You have an opportunity three times a day to do that, and by reducing food waste, you're reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing your environmental impact," she said.

Today’s report provisionally confirms that Ireland managed to stay within its legally binding cap on greenhouse gas emissions for the full 2021–2025 period, known as the first Carbon Budget.

The budget required that cumulative emissions from all sectors of the Irish economy could not exceed 295 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the five-year period.

Until recently, it had appeared unlikely that Ireland would remain within that limit.

However, reductions in emissions and improvements in energy efficiency across the economy over the past four years ensured cumulative emissions came in 1.1 million tonnes under budget by the end of 2025.

Excluding the land-use sector, the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted by Ireland last year was 52.65 million tonnes.

This equates to 9.6 tonnes of annual emissions for every man, woman and child in the country, down from 12.3 tonnes in 2021.

This reduction was achieved despite a strong economy and significant population growth.

Key sectors contribute to overall decline

Today’s report confirms that all key sectors contributed to the overall decline in emissions last year.

The largest reductions occurred in the energy sector, where emissions fell by 7.1% to an all-time low of 6.6 million tonnes.

This was the fourth consecutive annual reduction in energy emissions.

It was driven by increased renewable electricity generation from wind and solar, as well as higher imports of electricity from the UK.

The greenhouse gas emissions associated with generating electricity in the UK are counted in the UK's emissions inventory rather than Ireland's, even when that electricity is imported here.

In all, 16.4% of Ireland’s electricity was imported last year, up from 14.1% in 2024.

Elsewhere, emissions from transport fell for the second consecutive year, declining by 1.5%.

This was achieved despite there being more vehicles than ever on Irish roads, with the national fleet increasing by 3.4% in 2025.

It required a 14.9% increase in biofuel use and a 35.4% increase in electricity consumption for road transport.

Meanwhile, the Central Statistics Office reported yesterday that electricity consumption from stand-alone public electric vehicle chargers increased by 42% last year.

Agriculture, Ireland’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, also recorded a slight reduction, with emissions down 0.2%.

The number of cattle, the primary source of methane emissions, fell by 3.3%.

However, the gains from fewer cattle were partly offset by a 12.7% increase in nitrogen fertiliser use and a 4.8% increase in milk production.

Emissions from buildings, including homes, commercial premises and public buildings, decreased by 4.7% last year.

The use of fossil fuels for heating and cooking continued to decline, while energy from heat pumps increased by more than a fifth.

There were also 4.1% fewer colder days requiring heating, which also contributed to the reduction in emissions.