The statistical bulletin outlines key Northern Ireland figures from the Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The estimates were produced by Ricardo Energy and Environment on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, the Welsh Assembly, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

The key points are:

• In 2024 Northern Ireland’s net greenhouse gas emissions were estimated to be 18.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). This net figure is a result of an estimated 22.2 MtCO2e total emissions, offset by 3.8 MtCO2e of emissions removed through sequestration.
• The net figure of 18.4 MtCO2e in 2024 remains similar to 2023 with a 0.04% difference. The longer-term trend showed a decrease of 29.4% compared with the base year. The base year is 1990 for carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, and 1995 for the fluorinated gases.
• In 2024, Agriculture was the largest emitter, responsible for 31.4% of emissions. Domestic transport followed as the second largest contributor, responsible for 21.3% of overall emissions. The Buildings and product uses sector, along with the Land use, land use changes, and forestry (LULUCF) sector, contributed 15.5% and 11.7% respectively. Additionally, the Electricity Supply sector accounted for 10.8% of emissions.
• Between 2023 and 2024 three sectors showed a decrease in emissions. The largest decreases in terms of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent were in Electricity Supply (0.2 MtCO2e), Industry (0.05 MtCO2e) and Waste (0.02 MtCO2e) sectors.
• In 2024, Northern Ireland contributed 4.9% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions, which stood at 373 MtCO2e. In the UK there has been a 52.9% reduction in emissions between the base year and 2024. During the same period, the reduction in emissions in Northern Ireland was 29.4%, compared to 55% in England, 52.2% in Scotland and 44.5% in Wales.

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Our climate is changing, and we need to prepare. Greenhouse gas emissions cause the Earth’s atmosphere to hold more radiation from the sun which increases the overall temperature of the planet. This change in temperature is altering our climate, and causing one of the greatest threats of our time. Even if we stop all emissions immediately, we have already locked in a certain amount of climate change.

In Northern Ireland, this means we will experience warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers. However, cold snaps, drier winters and wet summers will occur, therefore we need to be prepared for a much greater range of extremes.

Climate NI has developed a toolkit to support organisations with climate action planning. These five-step toolkits have been developed based on international good practice and they aim to provide the building blocks required for the creation of plans for how organisations can manage the impacts from climate change while also informing and taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

To find out more about Climate NI’s mitigation toolkit Net Zero NI: Click here

To find out more about Climate NI’s adaptation toolkit NI Adapts: Click here