This year, the overall decline recorded by the emitting sectors was 6.8%. The largest decrease was recorded in the energy sector (21.6%). Soothing news, especially “greenhouse gas emissions increased by 3% during 2014-19”, The OECD report was published in 2021.

National Commitments for a Green Ireland

In this report, we particularly understand that Ireland, a very good student of the environment and the environment, is putting a lot of effort into agriculture, especially (through the presence of many ruminants in the area).

The country was also committed “Phase out electricity generation from peat and coal in the 2020s“. A Transition Commissioner was therefore created to achieve this objective, and a special fund was established to deal with job losses.

Substantial reductions in greenhouse gases in all (or nearly all) sectors

As BBC relays, emissions from the agricultural sector fell by 4.6%, those from the residential sector by 7% (due to higher fuel prices) and more than 30,000 heat pumps were installed in residential homes last year. The only downside: the transport sector, where emissions rose by 0.3%.

“We see the impact of more renewable energy and interconnected electricity, less fossil fuels for home heating, less nitrogen fertilizer use in agriculture, and more biofuels in transportation.”, enthused Laura Burke, Director General of the EPAon the BBC.

Low enough to honor specific commitments to members of the European Union?

Although the decline was the second consecutive annual decline and the largest fiscal crisis on record, except for years of financial crisis, the country still “Far from the end”, according to the EPA, to meet the targets set by the European Union (2030).

“The data shows a shift towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the scale and pace needed to meet our climate ambition of a 51% reduction by 2030. […] We are still far from reaching the European national targets for 2030” Laura Burke explained, arguing that this momentum should be sustained while strengthening.

As a reminder, European Climate LawEntered into force in July 2021, it commits member states of the European Union to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, which means reducing net GHG emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

Source: BBC