According to a new report from the Irish Central Statistics Office, agriculture accounted for 38% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, while households were the second largest emitters – responsible for more than a quarter of all emissions.
These were followed by the production of cement and non-metallic minerals which accounted for 6% of annual emissions, road and rail transport accounting for 5% and food and drink production which was responsible for 3% of overall greenhouse gas emissions.
The study shows a 11% increase in greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture sector during the decade up to 2020.
However gross value added produced by the agriculture sector increased far more sharply during that period, increasing by 71%
In addition, the report shows that GHG emissions from the household sector declined by 21% to 15.4 million tonnes in the decade to 2020, despite a substantial increase in population.
The study attributes all the GHG emissions resulting from driving private cars to the household sector, as well as all fuel used for home heating, as well as electricity in the household sector.
Heating oil was the predominant fuel used in 36% of households built between 2000 and 2004 to less than 1% in the most recent years.
In 2020, 106 million Euros was paid out in energy efficiency grants to households, 65 million Euros was paid out in grants and tax reliefs for electric vehicles and another 7 million Euros was paid out in renewable energy grants to households.
The report also includes information about environmental taxes paid by each sector. Households pay the highest environmental taxes at 207 Euros per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted, whereas the agricultural sector pays by far the lowest environmental taxes at just 3 Euros per tonne of GHG emitted.