Agriculture
Climate change is challenging for Irish agriculture both in the context of greenhouse gas emissions and the need for adaptation of farming practices to be more resilient to the impacts of climate change. In Ireland the Agriculture sector was directly responsible for 37.9% of national Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emissions in 2024, mainly methane from livestock, and nitrous oxide due to the use of nitrogen fertiliser and manure management. A breakdown of the main sources of GHGs from the agriculture sector is shown in the table below.
Note: These pages present final 1990-2024 Inventory data (updated April 2026) and the EPA's latest 2025-2030 projections estimates (updated May 2026)
Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture in 2024
EPA Inventory data shows that greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture in Ireland decreased by 1.3% (or 0.28 Mt CO₂eq ) in 2024 following a larger decrease of 4.9% in 2023. the national inventory times series starts in 1990 and the emissions from agriculture in 2024 are 0.6% lower than 1990. in 2024, emissions from agriculture have reduced by 4.5% compared to the 2018 baseline year.
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Table 1: Sources of emissions
Type of Activity Description and associated emissions Share of Agriculture Emissions (2024) Enteric Fermentation Fermentation that takes place in the digestive systems of ruminant animals such as cattle and sheep resulting in direct emissions of the greenhouse gas methane. 62.1% Agricultural Soils Activities that lead to the direct and indirect emissions of nitrous oxide related to agricultural production, including application of synthetic fertilisers, animal wastes and other organic fertilisers, biological nitrogen fixation by crops, cultivation of organic soils, and mineralisation of crop residues. 19.1% Manure Management Methane and nitrous oxide greenhouse gases are produced during the management, storage and spreading of animal manure. Emissions from manure management vary significantly between the types of management system used. 11.8% Fuel combustion (Agriculture/Forestry/Fishing) Emissions of carbon dioxide from fuel combustion in agriculture and forestry sectors. 3.6% Liming Soil pH plays a key role in soil fertility. The application of limestone to correct soil acidity results in emissions of carbon dioxide 2.2% Urea application The addition of urea-containing fertilisers to soils results in emissions of carbon dioxide that was fixed during the industrial production process. 0.8% Open in Excel: Ag activity types_April 2026.xlsx (XLS 11KB)
Open in CSV : Ag activity types_April 2026.xlsx (CSV 11KB)
Agriculture activity trends
The drivers for the decrease in agriculture emissions in 2024 was a decrease in the cattle population (-2.3%), including a reduction in the number of dairy cows (-1.7%). This is the first year with a decrease in the dairy cow population following thirteen consecutive years of increases. Milk output per cow increased by 1.3% in 2024.
From 2014 to 2024, dairy cow numbers increased by 31.9% and milk production increased by 49%. This reflects the national plans to expand milk production under Food Wise 2025 and the removal of the milk quota in 2015.
In the same 10-year period the number of sheep decreased by 0.04%, while the pig population increased by 3% and poultry by 20.4%.
Projected emissions
(Latest update May 2026)
Total emissions from agriculture are projected to decrease by 4% over the period 2018-2030 to 20.5 Mt CO2eq in 2030 under the With Existing Measures scenario. Under the With Additional Measures scenario emissions are projected to decrease to approximately 17.3 Mt CO2eq by 2030 which is a 19% reduction over the period 2018 to 2030. The sector has an emissions reduction target of 25% by 2030 compared to 2018.
The decrease is driven by an anticipated contraction in total cattle population and lower fertiliser use. The greater decrease under the WAM scenario is driven by further measures (not in the WEM scenario) such as manure management measures, increased adoption of protected urea, annual limits on chemical N fertiliser, reduction in animal feed crude protein, earlier finishing of beef cattle and the use of methane inhibitors.