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Six sectors accounted for 79% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 with Agriculture (39%) and Households (23%) being the two highest emitting sectors.
Agriculture accounted for 39% of emissions, 1% of gross value added, and 4% of employment in 2022. The output of Agriculture is an important input for other NACE sectors, e.g. in 2020, 43% of the value of the output of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector was used as input for the manufacture of food products.
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 from electricity use (including electricity used for heating and transport).
Manufacture of Cement and Other Non-Metallic Minerals accounted for 6% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022. Emissions from this sector increased by 46% between 2010 and 2022.
The Land Transport sector, which includes goods vehicles and public service road and rail transport, accounted for 4% of emissions in 2022, down from a 6% share in 2010.
The Information and Communication sector made up 3.5% of emissions, 17.4% of gross value added, and 6.5% of employment in 2022.
In 2022, greenhouse gas emissions from the Food, Beverages and Tobacco sector were 2.8% of total greenhouse gas emissions. The sector share of gross value added was 2.0% and the employment share was 2.2% in 2022.
Electric vehicles comprised 1.6% of licensed private cars in 2022.
The 2021 Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act set national sectoral greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for 2030, based on 2018 emissions. This release uses economic, social, and environmental statistics on the highest emitting sectors to analyse whether greenhouse gas emissions have decoupled from economic activity or if potential economic and social impacts of reducing emissions towards the 2030 targets can be observed.
Many tables in this release cover the period 2010 to 2022. This period will be rolled forward one year with each new annual report. This means the CSO will be able to provide data and tables in a time series which will eventually cover the period 2018 to 2030 as set out in the Climate Action Plan.
This release presents progress on indicators that are important in relation to achieving the Climate Action Plan targets. The transition to electric vehicles, the use of electricity for heating buildings; and the proportion of renewable energy used in the generation of electricity are three important indicators underlying the emission reduction targets.
The release contains more detailed analyses for the highest emitting sectors. For the Agriculture sector we have used Supply and Use Table concepts to show how other NACE sectors depend on the output from Agriculture. A broader view of employment in the Agriculture sector is used to show the importance of part-time family labour input.
In line with the Eurostat Air Emissions Accounts module, emissions are assigned to the emitting production activity (NACE sector) or private household consumption activity. Economic activity and employment data are shown in this release for the highest emitting NACE sectors. Households as consumers had the second-highest emissions in 2022. As consumption activities do not contribute directly to gross value added or employment in the same way as production activities, Households as consumers cannot be assigned a share of gross value added or employment. When Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is measured by expenditure, Households have a large share of the economy. For further information, see the Background Notes.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (18 November 2024) published Decoupling Emissions from Economic Activity 2022.
Commenting on the release, Clare O'Hara, Statistician in the Environment Division, said: "The CSO collects and receives a very broad range of data for statistical purposes. This release combines a selection of these data to show the progress that is being made on reducing greenhouse gas emissions towards the 2030 Climate Action Plan targets. The release focuses on the six sectors with the highest greenhouse gas emissions and examines the economic trends in those sectors in terms of gross value added and employment.
Highest Emitting Sectors
Six sectors accounted for 79% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022. These were Agriculture (39%), Households (23%), Manufacture of Cement and Other Non-Metallic Minerals (6%), Land Transport (4%), Information and Communication (3.5%), and Manufacture of Food, Beverages and Tobacco (3%). Emissions from electricity generation were assigned to the end user in this release.
Economic Activity and Employment Analysis by NACE Sector
Of the six highest emitting sectors, the five NACE sectors (i.e. excluding households) accounted for 55% of emissions, 15% of employment, and 22% of gross value added.
Agriculture (NACE 01) accounted for 1% of gross value added (GVA) and 4% of employment in 2022. The output of agriculture is an important input for other NACE sectors, in particular the Manufacture of Food and Beverages sectors and therefore contributes indirectly to output in these sectors. Between 2010 and 2022, GVA in the Agriculture sector doubled, while emissions rose by 17% and employment fell by 3%.
Manufacture of Cement and Other Non-Metallic Minerals (NACE 23) accounted for between 4% and 6% of emissions in each year between 2010 and 2022. In 2020, 51% of cement and other non-metallic mineral products were used as inputs by the construction industry.
Land Transport (NACE 49) greenhouse gas emissions fell by 38% between 2010 and 2022, while GVA at constant prices rose by 32%. Emissions from the use of private cars by households and from the use of road vehicles by NACE sectors other than the road freight and passenger transport sector (NACE 49) were attributed to those other sectors.
The Information and Communication sector (NACE 58-63) made up 3.5% of emissions, 17.4% of gross value added, and 6.5% of employment in 2022, with 94% of emissions in this sector coming from electricity consumption.
The Food, Beverages and Tobacco sector (NACE 10-12) accounted for around 3% of emissions in each year between 2010 and 2022. In 2022, greenhouse gas emissions were 9% higher than in 2010, while gross value added was 69% higher and employment was up 25%.
Household Energy Efficiency, Heating and Transport
Home heating was the source of around 41% of household greenhouse gas emissions, with a further 36% from the vehicles of private households, and another 21% from electricity consumption. Emissions from fossil fuels used to generate electricity were assigned to the final user of the electricity.
Electricity was the main heating fuel for 90% of dwellings built in 2020-2023, and for 22% of all dwellings that have had a Building Energy Rating audit conducted. In 2022, electric vehicles comprised 1.6% of licensed private cars.
Renewable energy was the source of 37% of electricity generated in 2022, compared with 39% in 2020 and 36% in 2021."