According to the latest inventory published by Northern Ireland’s Departement of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the country emitted 20.7bn tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2015 – an increase of 0.6% on the previous year.

Agriculture was the sector contributing the largest share of emissions (29%), followed by transport (21%) and energy supply (19%).

Since 1990, Northern Ireland has cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 17.8%, compared with 38% for the UK as a whole, according to DAERA.

While the UK is expected to exit the EU before 2020 and 2030, European greenhouse gas emissions targets come up, it will remain part of international climate agreements, such as the global accord signed in Paris in 2015.

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