In this NERI Research InBrief, NERI economist Paul Goldrick-Kelly compares emissions trends for three european small open economies, Austria, the Republic of Ireland and Sweden. These states show distinct trends in greenhouse gas sources and trends despite other similarities.
Despite many similarities, emissions data for the Republic of Ireland (ROI), Austria and Sweden showcase distinct trends and sources of emissions. Sweden leads in emissions performance, showing significant declines between 1990 and 2019 across a number of sectors, particularly in emissions tied to fossil fuel use. In contrast, despite declines from peaks during the 2000s in Austria and ROI, 2019 emissions remained above (slightly in the former, significantly in the latter) 1990 levels. This was largely the result of increased transport emissions, particularly road transport. Idiosyncrasies arise in the cases of Austria and ROI in the areas of Industrial processes and Product Use and Agriculture respectively, which offset declines elsewhere in each territory