The latest official assessment places Northern Ireland's total carbon footprint at 23.0 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2023.
This figure represents a rise of approximately two per cent from the 22.5 million tonnes recorded in 2022, following a period where emissions reached their lowest point in 2020.
Emissions embedded within imported goods and services accounted for the dominant portion of the total footprint, comprising 52 per cent of the overall estimate.
When measured on a per capita basis, the carbon footprint stood at 12.0 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per person in 2023.
Over the fifteen-year period from 2001 to 2023, the per person figure declined by 19 per cent despite the recent upward trend in total emissions.
The document was released by the Northern Ireland Executive on 7 October 2026.
In addition to consumption-related figures, the publication compares these estimates against territorial greenhouse gas emissions to illustrate broader environmental trends.