Transport
Did you know that riding with your foot on the brake pedal will not only wear out brake pads (which will cost) but can also increase fuel consumption by as much as 35%. The average cost savings of not doing this is approx. 13 cent per litre.
Noise, smelly fumes, frustrating traffic jams, road works and stress - just your average car journey. But there is more at stake than uncomfortable travelling: transport is responsible for a lot of serious air pollution - small particles emitted by vehicles using petrol or diesel are linked to asthma, and nitrogen oxides cause respiratory diseases and can produce smog at ground level. The most recent comprehensive data on the residential transport sector in Ireland is found in Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s 2019 report on Energy in Ireland. The key information gleaned from this report showed that the transport sector in Ireland had the largest final energy demand (42%) of any sector in 2018. Private cars were responsible for the highest energy use, accounting of 40% of transport final energy demand.
We are very car-dependent in Ireland - private vehicles make up just over 3/4 of the total vehicle use. Also, on average Irish households have among the highest annual mileage in Europe and spend more on transport than their European neighbours... we spent an average of €2,500 in 2016, 25% more than the European average. (Transport Trends 2019, Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport’s Strategic Research and Analysis Division).
Transport in Ireland was responsible for 12 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2017 - 40% of the total energy related CO2 emissions - and private cars accounted for 40% of all CO2 transported related emissions. CO2 emissions due to transport increased 24% between 2012 and 2018. Indeed energy demand from transport in Ireland increased 181% from 1990 to 2018! (SEAI, 2018). There is some good news however - electric cars in Ireland are growing in use. Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that electric or hybrid vehicles accounted for 10% of Irish car sales as of October 2019. This is a 157% increase on the previous year.
For information on how to improve your transport carbon footprint take a look at the links below.