In 2023 the manufacturing combustion sector was responsible for 7.5% of Ireland's total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
This section shows emissions from combustion in the manufacturing industry. It also includes combustion for combined heat and power for own use in these industries. Emissions from the combustion of fuels in manufacturing decreased by 4.6% or 0.20 Mt CO2eq in 2023 compared to 2022 emissions.
(Latest update May 2024)
Under the With Existing Measures scenario, emissions from manufacturing combustion are projected to decrease 12% from 4.3 to 3.8 Mt CO2 eq between 2022 and 2030.
Under the With Additional Measures scenario, emissions from manufacturing combustion are projected to decrease by 32% between 2022 and 2030 to 2.9 Mt CO2 eq. This scenario assumes further rollout of energy efficiency programmes, the use of biomethane for heat and an increase in carbon-neutral heating in low and high temperature heat in manufacturing.
In 2023 the industrial processes sector was responsible for 3.9% and F-Gases 1.3% of Ireland's total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
The industrial processes sector estimates greenhouse gas emissions occurring from industrial processes, from the use of greenhouse gases in products, and from non-energy uses of fossil fuel carbon.
Emissions from the industrial processes sector decreased by 5.8% (0.13 Mt CO₂ eq) in 2023 when compared to 2022.
Industrial processes and product use is the only sector for which emissions of HFCs, PFCs, SF6 and NF3 (collectively known as fluorinated gases or F-gases) are reported in greenhouse gas emission inventories. There is no production of fluorinated gases in Ireland, but these substances are used in activities such as Ireland’s electronics industry and for refrigeration and air conditioning. Provisional F-gas emissions decreased by 5.7% from 2022 to 2023, following an increase of 0.5% in 2022. This is driven by a decrease in emissions in the semiconductor industry.
(Latest update May 2024)
For the industrial processes sector emissions are projected to increase by 4% between 2022 and 2030 to 2.4 Mt CO2 eq under the With Existing Measures scenario (this is the only emissions scenario for industrial processes, based on available data2). The majority of emissions come from cement and lime industries and the projections are based on growth forecasts from the cement industry in Ireland.
Fluorinated-Gas (F-Gas) emissions are projected to decrease by 17% to 0.6 Mt CO2 eq between 2022 and 2030 under the With Existing Measures scenario. This is largely due to the move away from mobile air-conditioning systems in vehicles that contain F-Gases with a high global warming potential.
F-Gas emissions are projected to reduce by 16% between 2022 and 2030 to 0.6 Mt CO2 eq under the With Additional Measures scenario. The results show that in the WAM scenario F-gas emissions are slightly higher than in the WEM scenario by 2030. In the WAM scenario the number of heat pumps being deployed annually is over double the number in the WEM scenario by 2030. The switch to lower Global Warming Potential gas (R32) in and heat pumps and air conditioning units over the projected period in the With Additional Measures scenario means that despite this large increase in heat pump numbers, the increase in GHG emissions is small.
1 Included in manufacturing combustion sector
2 This does not include F-gas emissions which have WEM and WAM scenarios discussed separately