A shift from natural gas to coal, driven by global energy prices, produced a large increase in greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity generation sector during 2013 estimated at 22 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, similar to
2012 and only a small increase (1.2%) on the 2011 estimate.
That rise was offset by a drop in emissions in land use compared with the previous year. In 2012 forest fires had led to a surge in emissions. In the waste sector there was also a notable reduction in emissions from landfill.
Overall Northern Ireland’s 2013 greenhouse gas emissions are
http://www.doeni.gov.uk/ghg-inventory-statistical-bulletin-2013-infographic.pdf.
The largest sources of emissions in 2013 are
agriculture (29%), transport and energy supply (both making up 18%
each) and residential (13%). All sectors, except for transport, show a
decreasing trend since the base year with the
greatest decreases in emissions observed in the energy supply and waste
sectors (decreasing by around 1.3 and 1.1 million tonnes respectively).