Methane emissions in Ireland
Ireland: Methane emissions was 17.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
17.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
Change on year
up 0.5%
Rank
81st
of 199 regions
All-time high
39.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 1850
All-time low
11.82 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 1960
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Methane emissions in Ireland, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
Analysis
In 2024, methane emissions in Ireland stood at 17.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and down 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, methane emissions in Ireland peaked at 39.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1850 and was at its lowest, 11.82 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, in 1960.
Ireland ranks 81st of 199 regions on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 175 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 36.22 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 33.71 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 39.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1860s | 32.17 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 31.18 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 33.18 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1870s | 30.44 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 29.96 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 30.97 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1880s | 28.58 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 27.36 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 29.83 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1890s | 26.47 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 25.88 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 27.10 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1900s | 25.36 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 24.97 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 25.73 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1910s | 24.48 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 24.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 24.89 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1920s | 19.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 16.73 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 24.04 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1930s | 15.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 15.10 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 15.95 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1940s | 14.10 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 13.48 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 14.93 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1950s | 12.81 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 12.11 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 13.36 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1960s | 13.69 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 11.82 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 15.33 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1970s | 16.72 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 15.39 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 17.51 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1980s | 17.11 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 16.78 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 17.41 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.57 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 17.71 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 21.34 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.75 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 17.85 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 22.79 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.18 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 17.37 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 19.77 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.72 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 17.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 17.97 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 78 Chile 18.64 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 79 Belarus 18.58 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 80 Guatemala 18.39 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 82 Afghanistan 16.62 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 83 Taiwan 15.46 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 84 Congo 15.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
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)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 2.37 billion tonnes (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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is methane emissions in Ireland?
- Methane emissions in Ireland was 17.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024, according to Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest methane emissions recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 39.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1850.
- What is the lowest methane emissions recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.82 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1960.
- How does Ireland rank for methane emissions?
- Ireland ranks 81st out of 199 regions with data for 2024.
- Is methane emissions rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Methane emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 175 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.