Ireland’s energy-related emissions have reached their lowest level in more than 30 years, but the country’s transition to clean energy shows no sign of gaining momentum, according to the latest data from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
Its interim report on how much energy was consumed in 2024, what sources were used and where this energy came from, shows the electricity sector is set to meet its critical 2030 targets but other sectors such as transport and heating are far short of legally-binding commitments.
The 1.3 per cent drop in energy emissions last year marks an overall reduction of 11 per cent since carbon targets were introduced in 2021.
This is despite an increase in overall energy use – which grew by 2.3 per cent last year. Increased use of bioenergy and technologies such as solar PV and heat pumps meant renewable energy supplied 14.5 per cent of Ireland’s energy requirements, a slight increase on 2023.
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SEAI estimates electricity sector emissions were down by 7.5 per cent. Though renewable generation capacity increased, increase in power demand “continues to outpace renewables”, while grid constraints including “curtailments” and lower wind outputs last year were also a factor.
The top three sources of electricity were again natural gas (42.1 per cent), wind (31.7 per cent), and “net-imports” from using interconnectors with the UK (14 per cent). Ireland is out of step with the rest of Europe, however, importing more than 75 per cent of its energy needs in the form of fossil fuels.
SEAI director of research and policy insights Margie McCarthy said the energy emissions trend indicated “changes we are making are going in the right direction. Last year saw record levels of solar PV generation, record levels of heat pumps and further growth in overall renewable energy share. These were all driven by positive policy decisions.
“If we are to meet our [climate] targets, we have no time to wait, we need to accelerate our deployment of renewable energy technologies and we have to make wise decisions on energy demand growth.”
Investment in renewable technologies and interconnectors, while continuing to retrofit housing and public buildings along with moves to active travel and public transport were required, she said. “Only with collective effort and buy in will we achieve the changes needed in our consumption behaviours to realise the energy transition,” Ms McCarthy said.
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Transport emissions were down by just 1.2 per cent year on year, despite significant advancements in biofuel blending, and “progress in the EV transition”. But failure to switch to active travel and public transport and over-reliance on private vehicles is “eroding progress”. Heating emissions increased by 2.4 per cent; likely because 2024 was cooler than 2023.
The longer Ireland waits to take meaningful action, the harder it will be to achieve climate commitments, Ms McCarthy said. “Multiple global crises gave us a head start in our energy reduction efforts, where Covid-reduced travel, and energy price increases, plus warmer than average winters have all played a role in reducing our national emissions to date. Yet we still remain short of where we need to get to.”
Climate action at a national and local level was needed, she said. “As individuals, we need to embrace renewable technologies and energy efficiency efforts in our local areas, reduce our reliance on private vehicles and think more about how we are using our heat and electricity.”
On a policy level, increased investment in renewable and grid technologies was necessary to increase renewables. “We need to fully understand what supports are required for people making the transition, in particular for those least able to do so on their own. We need to attract people and businesses to develop and train in the skills necessary to build a bigger supply chain and we need more people taking up supports to improve their energy efficiency.”
The data does not breakdown energy use in data centres last year - though this demand is increasing, driven by capacity needs with scale up of AI, said Dr Lee Carroll programme manager of SEAI energy statistics team at a briefing. This usage is compiled by the Central Statistics Office based on metered electricity. It is due to be released shortly and will be incorporated into a final SEAI report in September.
In trying to get behavioural change on energy use and retrofitting, Ms McCarthy said sharing of good experiences neighbour-to-neighbour was important. “And so the more people we have telling stories of good experiences the better ... just one bad story on a technology that’s just kicking off in Ireland can have huge negative impacts.”
That meant spreading the message with the “really good, successful stories that we’re seeing around deployment of renewable technologies that sometimes get lost in the one story not going so well. That’s really important in the behavioral piece to try and drive the momentum that’s needed”.
