Minister Ryan welcomes EPA finding that GHG emissions fell in 2020 but cautions that it "demonstrates the scale of the climate challenge that lies ahead"
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From: Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
- Published on: 22 October 2021
- Last updated on: 12 April 2025
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, has today welcomed a statement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that Ireland’s 2020 greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 3.6% compared with 2019 levels, but said that the "relatively minor" decrease in emissions demonstrates the scale of the challenge that lies ahead.
Commenting on the statement, the Minister said:
"The events of 2020 disrupted the economies and societies of billions of people globally and Ireland was no exception. Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions were clearly impacted by the measures to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. While transport emissions have seen a significant drop, this has been somewhat offset by an increase in emissions in our buildings with increased heat demand from those working at home.
"Overall, the emissions reduction of 3.6% [or 2.2 Mt CO2 equivalent] versus 2019 levels is relatively minor, when one considers the scale of the pandemic. This, once again, demonstrates the scale of the climate challenge that lies ahead.
"Emissions from our electricity sector do, however, show that emissions reductions can be achieved. The downward trend of emissions in this sector has continued, driven by a reduction in peat use in electricity generation, and the increase in the amount of electricity generated by renewable sources. For the first time, Ireland’s electricity carbon intensity has dropped below 300 gCO2/kWh, a considerable drop from 1990 levels, when it was three times 2020 levels at 896 gCO2/kWh."
The statement from the EPA showed that, while industry and commercial sectors have seen slight drops in emissions, the agricultural sector’s emissions have continued to rise. This, says the Minister, highlights the importance of new policies to reverse this trend.
The Minister added:
"While the reduction in total emissions is a step in the right direction, Ireland still exceeded its emissions budget for 2020. This means that we are unlikely to meet our overall EU 2020 targets. We must now focus our efforts on meeting our obligations in the coming decade. Further transformative measures will be needed to meet our national climate ambitions. In recognition of these challenges the Government has stepped up its ambition."
In July, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 was passed. This commits Ireland to reach a legally-binding target of net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest, and a cut of 51% by 2030 (compared to 2018 levels). This Act provides the framework to meet international and EU climate commitments and to enable Ireland to become a leader in addressing climate change.
The Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC), which is an independent body, will shortly propose carbon budgets. The carbon budgets will go to Government and then to the Oireachtas. The Oireachtas will be tasked with reviewing and approving these carbon budgets within a 4-month period.
Once these overall, economy-wide carbon budgets are approved, the Government will divide the overall budget into sectoral ceilings. All sectors (of the economy) will have to play their part. There will be different targets for each sector, based on their respective starting points and the relative difficulty, cost, speed and benefits of reducing emissions.
The Government, to ensure climate action continues at pace, will publish Climate Action Plan 2021 in the coming weeks. This plan will set out indicative ranges of emissions reductions for all sectors. It will also set out the practical measures that we need to take to meet our climate targets.
Minister Ryan concluded:
"This will be challenging and will require fundamental changes in many parts of Irish life, but it is also an opportunity to create a cleaner, greener economy and society. In making these changes, we will improve the health, welfare and security of all our people, as well as our environment.”
ENDS
Notes to the editor
The main findings from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) statement, which is referenced in this press release, are outlined below:
- Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 3.6% in 2020, less than the reduction seen in 2019
- Transport emissions (the largest sectoral emissions reduction) reduced by 15.7% due to COVID-19 lockdown measures
- Energy industry emissions reduced by 7.9%. This was due to peat-fuelled electricity generation decreasing by 51% and wind generation increasing by 15%
- Residential emissions increased by 9.0%. The increase in carbon intensive fossil fuel use was driven by low fuel prices and working from home
- Agriculture emissions increased by 1.4%. This was driven by increased activity in all areas, including a 3.2% increase in the number of dairy cows
The full EPA statement, titled 'Pandemic restrictions, less peat and more wind energy lead to reduced greenhouse gas emissions in 2020' can be found here.