Ireland to exceed emission limits next year: gov't

Ireland is on course to exceed its binding greenhouse gas limits in 2016 or 2017 after significant greenhouse gas emission increases were recorded across all the main sectors last year, the government warned on Thursday.

Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions have increased significantly in 2015, with the link between economic growth and increased emissions yet to be broken, the country's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said.

EPA figures showed that for 2015 the total national greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to be 59.84 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent, which is 3.7 percent higher than emissions in 2014.

"We haven't yet achieved a decoupling of economic growth from emissions, something most evident in the transport sector," EPA director general Laura Burke said.

The top Irish environmental official said Ireland must implement measures to de-carbonize the transport and energy sectors, adding that Ireland must ensure increases in agricultural production aren't at the expense of the environment.

The energy industries, transport and agriculture sectors now account for almost 73 percent of Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions, according to the EPA.

"Ireland is not currently on the right track to meet its 2020 targets, nor is it on the right emissions trajectory to meet future EU targets or our national 2050 de-carbonization goals," she said.

The EPA's most recent greenhouse gas emission projections, published in March this year, projected that Ireland would not meet its 2020 target, with emission reductions likely to be in the range of 6 percent to 11 percent below 2005 levels.

"The greenhouse gas emission increases for 2015 in this report, suggest that achieving reductions, even at the lower end of that range, will be difficult," she added. Endit