Ireland needs to triple its efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in order to reach its agreed international targets.
That is the key finding from a new Eurostat survey which also shows that as other EU States forge ahead in developing renewable energy supplies, Ireland lags behind.
Ireland is obliged to ensure that at least 16% of energy generated here by 2020 is from renewable sources.
Grace Bolton of the EU Commission says more work needs to be done.
She said: "These efforts are telling us that Ireland needs to triple its efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to achieve a 20% reduction target relative to 1990 levels.
"Similarly when it comes to the share of renewable energy in our overall energy consumption the country is aiming to reach a 16% target and we have yet to close a gap of 6.5% by 2020."