Ireland overshoots greenhouse gas limits by 10m tonnes

The 10m-tonne overshoot on Ireland's maximum emissions limit of 295m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent is also equivalent to the yearly pollution from 4.5m to 7m cars. Stock picture

Ireland has overshot its greenhouse gas limits this year by more than 10 times the annual emissions from a city like Cork.

Ireland’s carbon budgets, which allocate emissions ceilings to the likes of motorists, households, farmers, businesses, and industry in five-year cycles, aimed to reduce emissions by 4.8% a year from 2021 to 2025 under the first block, while the 2026-2030 budget will increase that annual reduction target to 8.3%.

Instead of the maximum emissions of 295m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent set out in the Carbon Budget 2021-2025, the State will overshoot by about 10m tonnes, the independent Climate Change Advisory Council found in its annual review.

This is equivalent to the yearly pollution from roughly 4.5m to 7m cars, depending on the average emissions of the vehicles, or 10 times the emissions of a city the size of Cork.

Research in 2023 found that most of the city’s emissions came from private households, transport, and industry.

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'Overshoot must be paid back'

The Climate Council has warned that while progress in cutting emissions has been made, this overshoot will need to be “paid back” in the next Carbon Budget period (2026-2030).

The biggest blockage to Ireland’s progress remains our dependence on expensive, harmful fossil fuels, which were subsidised by €4.7bn of taxpayers’ money in 2024, it said.

Transport emissions remain stubbornly high, the Climate Council said.

"Both the Government and the public can do more collectively and individually to make significant emissions reductions," it said.  

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"The Council calls for increased expenditure on public transport ensuring efficient, reliable and timely services, increased grants for less expensive electric vehicles (EVs) and the rapid implementation of a demand management strategy to help drive down emissions in this sector."

The council has previously warned that Ireland faces up to €26bn in fines if it fails to meet EU targets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years.