Cumulative CO₂ emissions in Ireland
Ireland: Cumulative CO₂ emissions was 2.37 billion tonnes in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Cumulative CO₂ emissions in Ireland, 1850–2024
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 2.37 billion tonnes for cumulative co₂ emissions in 2024. That is the highest value across all 114 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.4% on the previous year and up 18.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, cumulative co₂ emissions in Ireland peaked at 2.37 billion tonnes in 2024 and was at its lowest, 395,712 tonnes, in 1850.
Ireland ranks 64th of 215 regions on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 395,712 tonnes | 395,712 tonnes | 395,712 tonnes | 1 |
| 1880s | 923,328 tonnes | 747,456 tonnes | 1.10 million tonnes | 2 |
| 1910s | 2.15 million tonnes | 1.32 million tonnes | 3.01 million tonnes | 8 |
| 1920s | 21.74 million tonnes | 3.30 million tonnes | 47.57 million tonnes | 8 |
| 1930s | 98.38 million tonnes | 57.13 million tonnes | 143.67 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1940s | 189.06 million tonnes | 155.19 million tonnes | 224.75 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1950s | 279.92 million tonnes | 234.48 million tonnes | 326.86 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1960s | 400.79 million tonnes | 338.02 million tonnes | 472.65 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1970s | 594.33 million tonnes | 492.04 million tonnes | 701.57 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1980s | 847.93 million tonnes | 727.85 million tonnes | 976.22 million tonnes | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.17 billion tonnes | 1.01 billion tonnes | 1.34 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.60 billion tonnes | 1.39 billion tonnes | 1.80 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.02 billion tonnes | 1.85 billion tonnes | 2.19 billion tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.30 billion tonnes | 2.23 billion tonnes | 2.37 billion tonnes | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More climate change data for Ireland
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.1% (2100)
- Population growth 1.6% (2025)
- Population, total 5.48 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 2.0% (2025)
- Urban population 3.54 million (2025)
- Urban population 64.6% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 6.34 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 6.34 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 6.34 tonnes per person (2024)
- Share of global CO₂ emissions vs. share of population 0.1% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is cumulative co₂ emissions in Ireland?
- Cumulative co₂ emissions in Ireland was 2.37 billion tonnes in 2024, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest cumulative co₂ emissions recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 2.37 billion tonnes in 2024.
- What is the lowest cumulative co₂ emissions recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 395,712 tonnes in 1850.
- How does Ireland rank for cumulative co₂ emissions?
- Ireland ranks 64th out of 215 regions with data for 2024.
- Is cumulative co₂ emissions rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Cumulative CO₂ emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 114 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), excluding land-use change, since the first year of available data, measured in tonnes.