Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions decrease in latest EPA figures
In the latest quarterly emissions figures recently published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decreased slightly compared to the same time period January to September in 2024.
Agricultural emissions are estimated to have reduced by -86.0 kt CO2 eq or 0.6% in the period January to September 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, this was second only to the Buildings sector. The largest agricultural sectoral decrease in emissions was in the Enteric Fermentation subsector (-180.9 kt CO2 eq), followed by the Manure Management subsector (-52.1 kt CO2 eq). While dairy cow numbers reduced by 2%, milk output increased by 5.7% during the same period. There was an increase in emissions in the year-to-date figures in the Agricultural Soils subsector of +70.5 kt CO2 eq resulting from increased nitrogen fertiliser use. There was also a -15.5 kt CO2e reduction in emissions associated with a reduction in the use of urea and protected urea. The increase in emissions from soils is a concern as reducing nitrogen fertiliser use and switching to protected urea are key actions in the Teagasc MACC and an area where much progress had been made since 2018.
The January to September 2025 quarterly figures follow the annual reduction of 1.7% in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Irish agriculture in 2024. Significant progress is still needed to meet the 25% reduction target by 2030 for agriculture. The adoption of technologies outlined in the Teagasc MACC is critical, including the reduction of nitrogen fertiliser use enabled by improved soil fertility, clover/multispecies swards and use of low emission slurry spreading. Further action to increase the use of protected urea and to reducing the age at cattle are finished are also required to help agriculture meets its targets. Research across the Teagasc Climate Centre continues to identify new technologies to reduce agricultural GHG emissions, including slurry amendments that can significantly reduce methane emissions. The Signpost programme can help farmers to develop their farm sustainability plan with the support of AgNav.
Find out more about the Teagasc Climate Centre here
For more information, visit the Signpost Programme webpage here
Access the EPA Quarterly Greenhouse Gas Emissions Indicator Report here (PDF).
The above was prepared by Dr. Muireann Egan, Teagasc Climate Centre