Production and Consumption-based Emissions of Ireland

This paper provides a snapshot of Ireland’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using both production-based accounting (PBA) and consumption-based accounting (CBA) approaches. PBA accounts for emissions within Ireland’s borders, attributing them to domestic production activities. In contrast, CBA captures emissions embedded in goods and services consumed in Ireland, including those associated with imports, while excluding emissions from exports. Thus, CBA reflects Ireland’s global emissions footprint. Comparing CBA and PBA offers valuable policy insights into Ireland’s contribution to global emissions. Using GTAP 11 data, the analysis reveals that CBA emissions exceed PBA emissions by 8 per cent to 16 per cent, depending on the treatment of electricity- and cattle-related emissions. The implications of adopting a CBA framework for assigning emissions responsibility vary by sector. For example, emissions from animal agricultures embedded in exports would not be attributed to Ireland under CBA, whereas emissions embedded in imported fuels would be.