Insights into Climate Change and Households in Ireland: What CSO data tells us

Climate change is certainly an issue Irish people are concerned about. We can see this among a group of 25 year olds, who are part of our Growing Up in Ireland survey. Within this group, 85% of respondents were somewhat or very concerned about climate change, the third highest issue of concern. It also emerged in a recent Household Environment Survey, where climate change was rated as a very important issue for 69% of households.

What was really interesting to see in the results of this survey was the difference in responses by region and by age, with 58% of respondents in the Border region (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo) rating climate change as very important compared with 75% in Dublin. In general, the survey found that urban respondents were slightly more likely to consider climate change a very important issue (71%) compared with rural respondents (66%). There were also notable variations depending on the age of the respondents, with those in the 18-34 age bracket and those over-65 most likely to feel that climate change was a very important issue for them.

Every household's energy use, from heating to transport to electricity consumption, plays a role in the overall emissions that contribute to climate change. It’s important to understand these trends as they directly impact on our climate, our environment and our daily lives.

As a country, our total greenhouse gas emissions fell 3% between 2010 and 2022 while life expectancy, housing stock, employment, and the economy all rose during this period. In other words, there was a small drop in emissions during this time, against a background of increasing population and economic activity.

Looking specifically at households, greenhouse gas emissions from households fell by 28% during the same period. Households had the second highest sector share of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 after Agriculture (39%) and ahead of the Manufacture of Cement and other Non-Metallic Minerals sectors (6%), which would traditionally have high emission-related activity.

In 2022, 41% of household greenhouse gas emissions were from fossil fuels used for household heating, 36% were from fossil fuels used for transport, and 21% were indirect emissions from electricity use, including electricity used for heating and transport.

We can see that home retrofitting, the transition to electric vehicles, and the move towards using renewable energy sources in the generation of electricity all work towards increasing the energy efficiency of homes. These are important indicators of the progress being made by households towards reducing emissions.

For instance, Census 2022 shows that while historically oil was the most common type of fuel used for central heating, there has been a dramatic shift away from heating oil for dwellings built in the last decade and they are instead much more likely to use electricity for central heating. In fact, 99% of audited domestic buildings constructed between 2020-2024 were given an A Building Energy Rating (BER) while 95% of those built between 2015-2019 achieved an A-rating. It also represents a significant shift in a relatively short period as just 36% of audited dwellings built between 2010-2014 were given an A rating, and only 4% of those from 2005-2009 did.

When we look at the source of the electricity households use, we see the proportion of electricity generated from renewable sources was 37% in 2022. The types of cars we drive are also changing as consumers opt for electric and hybrid vehicles, which in turn impacts emissions. For instance, in 2022 there were 2.3 million private cars in Ireland compared with 1.9 million in 2010, up 21%. Yet direct greenhouse gas emissions from household cars were 11% lower in 2022.

The CSO also publishes data on trends in metered electricity and gas bills. The median or mid-point residential gas bill rose from €740 in 2021 to €972 in 2022 and reached €1,249 in 2023. During the same period (2021-2023) networked gas consumption in the residential sector fell 23%. This means that even though people were using less gas, they were paying more for it.

Electricity consumption by households fell 8% between 2021 and 2023 as the COVID-19 pandemic ended and energy prices increased. However the median electricity bill also fell when Household Energy Credits were taken into account.

Reduced energy consumption may mean fewer greenhouse gas emissions. However, higher prices could result in a rise in fuel poverty.  The CSO Survey of Income and Living Standards contains data on deprivation rates and in 2021, 3.4% of respondents were “unable to afford to keep the home adequately warm” and this rose to 6.8% in 2022 and 7.2% in 2023.

Environment taxes paid by the household sector consist mainly of energy taxes on fuels and transport taxes such as motor tax and vehicle registration tax. In 2022, the household sector paid €2.4 billion in environment taxes.

In 2022, households paid €171 per tonne of carbon dioxide, up from €135 in 2010, largely due to increases in Carbon Tax.

When we look at environmental subsidies, energy efficiency grants are the main component of subsidies to households. In 2022, households received 18% of environmental subsidies, paid 55% of environment taxes, and were the source of 23% of greenhouse gas emissions.