Committee on Climate Change

The profile of Northern Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions varies from that of the UK as a whole. Emissions have fallen in Northern Ireland since 1990 (by 11%), including by 0.4% in 2008.  The latest emission data available, for 2008, shows emissions of 22.2 MtCO₂e which is around 4% of total UK emissions, slightly higher than Northern Ireland’s share of UK population (3%) and GDP (2%).

Breakdown by sector:

• Emissions from power stations account for over a fifth of total GHG emissions in Northern Ireland (2008 data).  In 2008, emissions from this sector were 11% lower than in 1990 at just under 5 MtCO₂e.
• Industry emissions currently account for 13% of Northern Ireland’s GHG emissions, and in 2008 were 36% lower than 1990 levels, at just under 3 MtCO₂e.
• Emissions from non-residential buildings have fallen significantly in Northern Ireland between 1990 and 2008 (by 48%), but account for only a small proportion of emissions overall in Northern Ireland (about 1% in 2008).
• Transport emissions account for 23% of Northern Ireland’s GHG emissions. As with the rest of the UK, this is one of the few sectors where emissions have increased overall since 1990. Reflecting increasing demand for road transport, which accounts for around four fifths of all transport emissions in Northern Ireland, emissions in 2008 were 39% higher than in 1990.
• In the residential sector emissions, which by 2008 accounted for about a fifth of total emissions, were 18% lower in 2008 compared to 1990, at just over 4 MtCO₂e.
• Reflecting the relative importance of Agriculture in Northern Ireland’s economy, emissions in this sector are above the UK average, accounting for almost a quarter of Northern Ireland’s total emissions. Emissions from this sector fell 10% overall between 1990 and 2008 to 5 MtCO₂e.   

The latest disaggregated inventories for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are available from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory.