Written answers
Tuesday, 9 November 2021
Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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180. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the current estimates of his Department and of the agencies under his remit of the amount of CO2 created in the transport sector when vehicles are travelling at speeds, by category of vehicle and by fuel type (details supplied) in tabular form. [54090/21]
Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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According to the latest inventories of greenhouse gas emissions published by the Environmental Protection Agency, in the period between 2007 and 2020, emissions from the transport sector have decreased from 21% of total emissions to 17.9%. Road transport was responsible for 96% of transport sector greenhouse gas emissions in 2007 and 94% in 2020. As set out in the table below, transport emissions in 2020 were 28.5% below peak levels in 2007 primarily due to the short-term effect of COVID restrictions, as well as longer-term improving vehicle fuel efficiency, the increased use of biofuels and a significant decrease in fuel tourism in recent years. The impact of electric vehicles in reducing transport emissions is still low given the size of the vehicle fleet but they are projected to contribute substantially to emissions reductions towards the latter half of this decade.
Greenhouse Gas emissions (Mt CO2e) in the Transport Sector 2007-2020.
| 2007 | 2010 | 2013 | 2016 | 2019 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transport Sector | 14.4 | 11.5 | 11 | 12.3 | 12.2 | 10.3 |
| Road Transportation | 13.9 | 11 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 11.6 | 9.7 |
The Environmental Protection Agency has also published a breakdown of greenhouse gas emissions in the road transport sector by vehicle type for the years 2019 and 2020. This is set out in the table below, with figures in Mt CO2e.
| Vehicle Type | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Passenger Car | 6.612 | 5.238 |
| HGVs | 2.32 | 1.94 |
| LGVs | 1.74 | 1.746 |
| Buses | 0.812 | 0.679 |
Work is ongoing across the transport sector to encourage lower speeds, employ stronger speed limit enforcement and to review road speed limits. In the Climate Action Plan 2021, the Department of Transport has committed to continuing this work and to engaging with drivers, particularly in the HGV sector, to promote the use of eco-driving.
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