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INTRODUCTION
1: EMISSIONS AND EMISSION INVENTORIES Substances emitted into the atmosphere by human and natural activities are the cause of manycurrent and potential environmental problems, including:
It is necessary to have quantitative information on these emissions and their sources in orderto help:
There are many types of sources of atmospheric emissions and many examples (oftenmillions) of each type, for example:
It is not possible to measure emissions from all of the individual examples of these sourcesor, in the short term, from all the different source types. In practice, atmospheric emissionsare estimated on the basis of measurements made at selected or representative samples of the(main) sources and source types. The basic model for an emission estimate is the product of (at least) two variables, for example:
For example, to estimate annual emissions of sulphur dioxide in grams per year from an oil-firedpower plant you might use, either:
In practice, the calculations tend to more complicated but the principles remain the same. Emission estimates are collected together into inventories or databases which usually alsocontain supporting data on, for example: the locations of the sources of emissions; emissionmeasurements where available; emission factors; capacity, production or activity rates in thevarious source sectors; operating conditions; methods of measurement or estimation, etc. Emission inventories may contain data on three types of source, namely point, area and line.However, in some inventories all of the data may be on area basis - region, country, sub-regionetc. Point sources - emission estimates are provided on an individual plant or emission outlet(usually large) usually in conjunction with data on location, capacity or throughput, operatingconditions etc. The tendency is for more sources to be provided as point sources as legislativerequirements extend to more source types and pollutants as well as more openness providesmore such relevant data. Area sources - smaller or more diffuse sources of pollution are provided on am area basiseither for administrative areas, such as counties, regions etc, or for regular grids (for examplethe EMEP 50x50 km grid). Line sources - in some inventories, vehicle emissions from road transport, railways, inlandnavigation, shipping or aviation etc are provided for sections along the line of the road,railway-track, sea-lane etc. 2: INTERNATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EMISSION INVENTORIES 2.1 Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution Convention The Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP) was adopted inGeneva in 1979. Reporting of emission data to the Executive Body of the Convention isrequired in order to fulfil obligations regarding strategies and policies in compliance with theimplementation of Protocols under the Convention. These Protocols are:
Parties should use the draft reporting procedures (EB.AIR/GE.1/1997/5) and are required tosubmit annual national emissions of SO 2 , NO x , NMVOC, CH 4 , CO and NH 3 and variousheavy metals and POPs using the 11 main source categories (level 1 of SNAP, SelectedNomenclature for sources of Air Pollution) by the 31 December following each year. Forexample, Parties were requested to submit data for 1997 to the Executive Body(UNECE/CLRTAP Secretariat) by 31 December 1998. Parties are invited to also reportemissions of more detailed sub-sectors (SNAP level 2). Parties are also required to provide EMEP periodically with emission data within gridelements of 50km x 50km, as defined by EMEP and known as the EMEP grid. Parties should use the EMEP/CORINAIR Atmospheric Emission Inventory Guidebook bothas a reference book on good emission estimation practice and as a check-list to ensure that allrelevant activities are considered and their emissions quantified. Parties should indicate wherethe Guidebook methodology has been used and where not. If another methodology has beenused Parties are requested to provide additional explanatory information. 2.2 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) "The ultimate objective of this Convention and any related legal instruments that theConference of the Parties may adopt is to achieve stabilisation of greenhouse gasconcentrations at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with theclimate system. Such a level should be achieved within a time frame sufficient to allowecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is notthreatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner." (Article2). All Parties to the Convention shall "develop, periodically update, publish and make availableto the Conference of the Parties, in accordance with Article 12, national inventories ofanthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of all greenhouse gases notcontrolled by the Montreal Protocol, using comparable methodologies to be agreed upon bythe Conference of the Parties;" (Article 4, paragraph 1(a)). Parties are required to report emissions and sink estimates by 15 April for the last year but oneof carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), perfluorocarbons (PFCs),hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF 6 ). For example data for 1997 shouldbe reported by 15 April 1999 to the UNFCCC Secretariat. Parties should also provideinformation on emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO x ) and non-methanevolatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) and are encouraged to provide information ofemissions of sulphur oxides (SO 2 ). UNFCCC requires Parties to use the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National GreenhouseGas Inventories ("IPCC Guidelines"). Parties may use different methods ("tiers"), givingpriority to those methods which are believed to produce the most accurate estimates, andParties can also use national methodologies which they consider better able to reflect theirnational situation provided that these methodologies are compatible with the IPCC Guidelinesand are well documented (FCCC/SBSTA/1999/L.5). Within the framework of UNFCCC continuing efforts are aimed at improving transparency,consistency, comparability, accuracy and completeness of inventories, resulting in proposalsfor a new detailed "common reporting format" (CRF) and for preparing and providing accessto, an annual updated, detailed and complete national inventory report for all years. Theseproposals are expected to be adopted at COP5 in Bonn (25 October - 5 November 1999). Thiswould mean Parties would be requested to start with the new Common Reporting Format(CRF) on a trial basis in the years 2000 and 2001. Within the IPCC-OECD-IEA Programme on Inventories, and continued in 1999/2000 by theIPCC Task Force on Inventories, guidance has been developed on Good Practices as well ason Managing Uncertainties. The guidance document "Good Practice Guidance andUncertainty Management in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories" was finalised, acceptedand published in 2000. Guidance includes advice on choice of methodology, emission factor,activity data, and uncertainties, and on a series of quality assessment and quality controlprocedures, which may be applied during the preparation of inventories. It is available fromthe IPCC National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme, Technical Support Unit. C/O Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, 1560-39 Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa,Japan 240-0198; E-mail mailto:tsu@iges.or.jp . Alternatively it may be downloaded from theirwebsite at: http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp 2.3 Amended Council Decision 99/296/EC on a Monitoring Mechanism of CommunityCO2 and other Greenhouse Gas Emissions The European Community has adopted Council Decision 93/389/EEC to help monitorprogress towards stabilisation of the total CO 2 emissions by 2000 at the 1990 level in theCommunity as a whole. In 1999 this Decision has been amended by Council Decision 99/296/EC (26 April 1999)Amending Decision 93/389/EEC for a monitoring mechanism on CO2 and other greenhousegas emissions. The original Decision of 1993 has been amended to allow for the updating ofthe monitoring process, in particular regarding:
According to Article 3.2 “Member States shall each year, not later than 31 December, reportto the Commission their anthropogenic CO 2 emissions and removal by sinks for the previouscalendar year. Member States shall also report national inventory data on emissions/removalof the six Kyoto GHG on an annual basis. They shall report to the Commission by 31December year Y their final data for year Y-2, and provisional data for year Y-1. (Art 3.2).For example data for 1997 should be reported by 15 April 1999 to the Commission.According to Article 3.3 "The Commission shall establish inventories of emission/removal inthe Community and circulate them by 1 March". Member States shall also report by 31 December on the most recent projected emissions forthe period 2008-2012, and as far as possible, for 2005 (Art 3.2). Inventories are established in accordance with the methodologies accepted by IPCC andagreed upon by the Conference of Parties (art 3.1). The Commission shall take furthers steps to promote the comparability and transparency ofnational inventories and reporting (Art.3.2). 3: ATMOSPHERIC EMISSION INVENTORY METHODOLOGY There have been several major international initiatives over the past 10 years that have builton each other and helped develop the emission inventory methodology to its current state.These include:
3.1 OECD/MAP Project The MAP Project was designed (OECD, 1990) to:
The Project started in 1983 and the report on the work was published in 1990.
The inventory quantified point and area source emissions in nine main source sectors from 17European OECD countries - the current 15 Member States (excluding the former GermanDemocratic Republic) plus Norway and Switzerland. The nine main source sectors were:
In most but not all cases the inventory was compiled from emission estimates submittedofficially by each country. OECD worked closely with each country and with the CEC (whichfunded activity on the inventory to regroup emission estimates into the OECD source sectorsand to help countries complete their inventories). 3.2 The DGXI Inventory In 1985, the CEC Environment Directorate (DGXI) funded the compilation of an emissioninventory for the EU12 Member States (Spain and Portugal joined the European Communityduring the course of the work) in 1980 and 1983. The aim of the DGXI Inventory was (CITEPA, 1988) to collect data on emissions from allrelevant sources in order to produce a database for use in the study of air pollution problemsand to base policy measures in the field of air pollution control. The inventory covered four pollutants - SO 2 , NO x , VOC and particulates - and recognised 10main source sectors:
The work, which was completed with the publication of the report in 1988, was carried outunder contract by a group of four national laboratories/consultancies in collaboration with theMember States and OECD, who were simultaneously compiling the MAP Inventory. 3.3 CORINE and the EEA Task Force Council Decision 85/338/EEC (OJ, 1985) established a work programme concerning an"experimental project for gathering, co-ordinating and ensuring the consistency ofinformation on the state of the environment and natural resources in the Community". Thework programme was given the name CORINE - CO -oRdination d' IN formationEnvironnementale and include a project to gather and organise information on emissions intothe air relevant to acid deposition - CORINAIR. This project started in 1986 with theobjective of compiling aco-ordinated inventory of atmospheric emissions from the 12 Member States of theCommunity in 1985 (CORINAIR 1985). The CORINAIR 1985 Inventory covered three pollutants - SO 2 , NO x , and VOC (total volatileorganic compounds) - and recognised eight main source sectors:
The project also developed:
The CORINAIR 1985 Inventory was developed in collaboration with the Member States,Eurostat, OECD and UNECE/EMEP. The Inventory was completed in 1990 and the results have been published (Eurostat, 1991;CEC, 1995) and widely distributed in tabular and map forms. Pending a decision on the location of the EEA, it was agreed in 1991 to produce an update ofCORINAIR for 1990 (CORINAIR 1990). This update has been performed in co-operationwith EMEP and IPCC-OECD to assist in the preparation of inventories required under theLong Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP) Convention and the Framework ClimateChange Convention (FCCC) respectively. The CORINAIR90 system was made available to:
This collaboration:
The CORINAIR 1990 Inventory recognises 11 main source sectors (as agreed with EMEP,see below):
a are provided on large point sources on an individual basis and on other smaller or morediffuse on an area basis, usually by administrative boundary at the county, department level(NUTS level 3). The sources to be provided as point sources are:
The Goal of CORINAIR90 is to provide a complete, consistent and transparent air pollutantemission inventory for Europe in 1990 within a reasonable time scale to enable widespreaduse of the inventory for policy, research and other purposes. Completeness covers two aspects: the CORINAIR90 system is available to almost allcountries of Europe and the SNAP90 nomenclature has been designed to provide acomprehensive list of activities generating emissions of the eight pollutants to be quantified. Consistency will be provided by the systematic application of the CORINAIR methodology -by using the CORINAIR software and the SNAP90 nomenclature - to provide emissionestimates. Transparency will be achieved through the provision within the inventory of activitystatistics/data and emission factors (or details of emission measurements where available)used to calculate emissions and through the supply of full references to the sources of thesedata. Initial data from CORINAIR90 became available in early 1994 and the project was completedand a series of reports prepared during 1995 and early 1996. The work was finalised and published by the EEA in 1996 and 1997 ( see under section 5 ). 3.4 EMEP The Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long Range Transmissionof Air Pollutants in Europe (EMEP) formed by a Protocol under the Long RangeTransboundary Air Pollution Convention has arranged a series of workshops on EmissionInventory Techniques to develop guidelines for estimation and reporting of emission data for SO x , NO x , NMVOCs, CH 4 , NH 3 and CO under the Convention. The 1991 Workshop agreedto recommend that:
These guidelines included a recommendation that emission data should be reported as totalsand at least for the 11 major source categories agreed with the CORINAIR project and otherexperts for the CORINAIR 1990 Inventory (see above). The proposed task force was set up under the EMEP Steering Body with leadership from theUnited Kingdom and support from Germany and the European Community (including theEuropean Environment Agency). The objectives of the task force are to:
The first meeting of the task force was held in London (UK) in 1992) and established eightexpert panels to progress the work of the task force. The second meeting was held in Delft(Netherlands) in 1993 and agreed the specification for the joint EMEP/CORINAIR EmissionInventory Guidebook. The third meeting was held in 1994 in Regensburg (Germany) andreviewed first drafts of the Guidebook and considered how to integrate into the task forcework previously developed by the task force on emission projections. The fourth meeting washeld in 1995 in Oslo (Norway) and reviewed/assessed the second draft of the EmissionInventory Guidebook and considered how to develop the second phase of the Task Force. In1995 the Executive Body agreed that the TFEI should continue beyond June 1995 andcombine with the Task Force on Emission Projections to become the Task Force onEmissions Inventories and Projections (TFEIP). The subsequent meetings were held in 1996in Oxford (UK) (5 th ), resulting in finalisation of the first edition of the Guidebook (EEA,1996), in 1997 in Apeldoorn (Netherlands) (6 th ), in 1998 in Wismar (Germany) (7 th ) and in1999 in Roskilde (Denmark) (8 th ), resulting in finalisation of the second edition of theGuidebook (EEA, 1999). Since then the TFEIP has met in Rome (Italy) in 2000 and inGeneva (Switzerland) in 2001, where revised EMEP reporting procedures were presented anddiscussed. Following this meeting the Task Force set up an editorial sub-group to revise andfinalise these Guidelines, in response to comments received, for submission to the SteeringBody. Following this the Steering Body adopted the new guidelines for estimating andreporting emissions data in principle for a pilot phase to allow Parties to apply them in the2001 reporting round, while requesting the TFEIP to incorporate the comments made to the extent possible, taking into account the comments made by National Experts and experiencegained. 3.5 The IPCC/OECD/IEA Programme on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories In February 1991 the OECD held a workshop in Paris on greenhouse gas emission inventorymethodology to consider the OECD report 'Estimation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions andSinks' (Background Report). The workshop produced (OECD, 1991) consensus on:
IPCC subsequently adopted the Work Programme to be carried out by IPCC Working Group1 with support from OECD and IEA and recognised that method development effort should(IPCC, 1992):
This Work Programme prepared Draft Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories inthree volumes - Reporting Instructions, Workbook and Reference Manual - in the six officiallanguages of the United Nations for world-wide review during 1994. These guidelines wererevised, updated and issued as a three volume set of Guidelines in early 1995 prior to the firstConference of the Parties held in Berlin in March-April 1995. The Guidelines were revised in 1996 and 1997 through a series of expert workshops onagricultural soils, waste, new gases/industrial processes, land-use change and fuel combustionfollowed by a formal review process. This resulted in the three volume set 'Revised 1996IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories' (IPCC/OECD/IEA, 1997). The Guidelines cover the main sources of the three major greenhouse gases - CO 2 , CH 4 andN 2 O - and three additional groups of greenhouse gases - HFCs, PFCs and SF 6 but also promptfor emission estimates from three ozone precursors - NO x , CO and NMVOC. Furthermore, itis likely that information may be requested on SO 2 and NH 3 (which are important in theformation of aerosols and hence cloud formation which may have a negative effect on globalwarming) and other greenhouse gases and precursors. The IPCC Guidelines specifies six main sectors for reporting emissions and removals :
The CORINAIR Technical Unit followed by the European Topic Centre on Air Emissions(ETC/AE) has been working closely with the IPCC/OECD/IEA to ensure compatibilitybetween the joint EMEP/CORINAIR Atmospheric Emission Inventory Guidebook andreporting formats and the IPCC Guidelines and reporting formats. This was achieved bymeans of the preparation by ETC/AE of the revised SNAP97, distributed in 1998 andincluded in this Guidebook. SNAP97 is fully in line with the 1996 Revised IPCC Guidelines.Work to further harmonise EMEP and IPCC systems continues. 4: MULTI-MEDIA INTEGRATED INVENTORIES General In reviewing the requirements of the Fifth Environmental Action Programme (5EAP)'Towards Sustainability' and developing the work programme for the EEA, the EEA TaskForce has recognised the potential for extending the CORINAIR methodology to other media- a common, core set of relevant activity data would be collected and emission factors appliedto these data to provide estimates of emissions or releases into all media - air, water and land- as well as waste. An initial feasibility study carried out for the EEA-TF recommended that an integratedemission inventory should, in the long term, aim to:
To achieve these long-term aims, the report also recommended a number of steps to be taken,including
Finally, since an integrated inventory cannot be achieved in a single step, the reportrecommended that a phased approach should be adopted with piloting of some of the requiredfeatures, as was carried out for CORINAIR with the 1985 inventory. The feasibility study recognised a two-pronged strategy for developing integrated emissioninventories, based on:
This work is now continuing as part of the work programme of the European EnvironmentAgency to progressively develop source-oriented inventories covering emissions to air, waterand soil as well as waste releases and transfers. IPPC Directive (PER) In 1996 the EC Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control was adopted(Directive 96/61/EC). The purpose is to achieve integrated prevention and control ofpollution arising from activities listed in Annex 1 of the Directive, through permits to beissued by the Member States. In 1997 a Committee has been formed according to Article 19of the IPPC Directive to establish the format and particulars of the "inventory of principalemissions and sources responsible" (so-called Polluting Emissions Register or PER) providedfor in Article 15(3) of the Directive. This inventory is to be based on data supplied bymember states to DGXI. DGXI is required to report this inventory on a 3-yearly basis toCouncil and Parliament with the first inventory expected to be reported in 2002. In 1997, 1998 and 1999 several meetings of the Committee and additional working groupshave been held to discuss issues such as the list of substances to be reported, the use ofthreshold values for reporting, the definitions of the reporting unit (e.g. industrial site), thesource nomenclature to be used (for example the NOSE-P system developed by Eurostat,assisted by EEA. NOSE-P means Nomenclature of Sources of Emissions, Processes). The EEAcould assist the Commission in the collection, management and/or presentation of the data(from member states), in co-operation with Eurostat. Final decisions on the European PERare expected in 1999 or 2000. The results of the European PER could eventually be fed into a future EEA IntegratedEmissions Inventory (IEI), that would consist of emissions to air and water and generationof waste from large point sources (meaning IPPC installations in the European PER) anddiffuse or "area" sources (e.g. transport, agriculture, small enterprises). OECD/PRTR The OECD has developed a guidance document for governments who are consideringestablishing a national pollutant release and transfer register (PRTR). The Guidance Manualfor Governments, published in 1996 [OCDE/GD(96)32], was developed through a series ofworkshops which addressed the key factors countries should consider when developing aPRTR: why should a country establish a PRTR; what are the goals/objectives of the systemand which chemical substances should be reported; how should the data be disseminated; andhow should a PRTR system be implemented. The OECD and the Environment Agency of Japan hosted in 1998 an international conferenceon Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PTRT). Representatives from 38 countries metin Tokyo to take stock of the progress and status of PRTRs world-wide and to discuss futuredirections for its use and design. The conference recommended that OECD countries shouldcontinue to set the example in implementing PRTRs and take the lead in sharing theirexperiences; that OECD should review its PRTR Guidance Manual for Governments andidentify areas where supplemental policy and technical guidance might be needed to bettershare methodologies for estimating pollutant releases, verifying the data, standardising reportsand comparing PRTR data across borders and using PRTRs to indicate cleaner technologyand technology transfer opportunities; that international organisations should work together to identify how a PRTR could be used to monitor commitments set forth in internationalenvironmental agreements; and that all countries without PRTRs should consider theinitiation of a national system. 5: THE EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY The European Environment Agency was established by EC Regulation 1210/90 (updated in1999 (Regulation 933/1999) and commenced operation in Copenhagen on 30 October 1993. The overall objective of the Agency as specified in the Regulation is "to provide theEuropean Community and the Member States with objective, reliable and comparableinformation at European level enabling them to take the requisite measures to protect theenvironment, to assess the results of such measures and to ensure that the public is properlyinformed about the state of the environment". The geographical scope of the Agency's work is not confined to Member States of the EU;membership is open to other countries that share the concerns of the EU and member statesand the objectives of the Agency. Current membership includes all 15 EU states, as well asIceland, Liechtenstein and Norway (EEA18 countries). Furthermore EEA co-operates withCentral and Eastern and other European countries. An important product of the EEA is its regular State of the Environment report, for examplethe report "Europe's Environment: The Second Assessment", published in June 1998 as anupdate of "Europe’s Environment: the Dobris Assessment" (1995) and the report"Environment in the European Union at the turn of the century" (1999). The second Multiannual Work Programme for 1999-2003 was adopted by the ManagementBoard of the Agency in 1999. The Regulation specifies that the Agency shall furnishinformation which can be directly used in the implementation of Community environmentalpolicy and that it should give priority to a number of areas including atmospheric emissions. The European Topic Centre on Air and Climate Change (ETC/ACC) in led by the Institute of public health and environment (RIVM), the Netherlands supported by a consortium of partners involving:
The ETC/ACC shall support national experts of EEA countries and ensure the delivery of highquality - reliable, comparable and timely - air emissions data relevant at the European level inthe context of the EEA's mandate (EEA Regulation), objectives and work programme (EEAAnnual Work Programme 2000 and Multi Annual Work Programme 1999-2003). Airemissions data are in particular required by EU legislation and the various internationalconventions and protocols. ETC/ACC also contributes to the production of the main EEA stateof the environment reports, where air emission estimates are needed for assessing theenvironmental problems climate change, ozone depletion, acidification, tropospheric ozone,dispersion of hazardous substances and urban air quality. An important part of the work programme of ETC/ACC is to set up an annual European airemission inventory system (CORINAIR : CORe INventory of AIR emissions), includingcollecting, managing, maintaining and publishing the information, based on official nationalinventories (national total emissions, emissions by source sector, geographically distributedemissions). ETC/ACC assists participating countries to report their national emission inventories to thevarious international obligations in a consistent, transparent, complete and timely way,mainly by providing software and organising regular workshops. ETC/ACC also checks to alimited extent national inventories before submission by the country, but the country isalways responsible for the final official submission. ETC/ACC makes available toparticipating countries a software package (CollectER, Collect Emission Register, andReportER) and a manual to enable the countries to report to all the internationalobligations. The software system makes use of the SNAP97 source nomenclature. Inaddition a software package with a report and a manual to estimate national emissions fromroad transport was made available (COPERT3, Computer Programme for estimating Emissions from Road Transport. Apart from the individual MS the European Community is also a Party to UNECE/CLRTAP and UNFCCC, requiring the European Community (Commission,DG ENV) to report total EU15 emissions. ETC/ACC is assisting the Commission in preparingthese EU15 emission estimates as well as the necessary reports under the EC Monitoring Mechanism and to CLRTAP. The ETC/ACC has paid much attention the past years to reach full consistency between theCORINAIR and UNECE/CLRTAP/EMEP approach by developing jointly a emissionsource nomenclature SNAP97 (Selected Nomenclature for sources of Air Pollution) withCLRTAP/EMEP (the Co-operative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the LongRange Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe) and its Task Force on EmissionInventories and Projections (TFEIP). In addition the SNAP97 nomenclature has been madefully compatible with the source nomenclature used in by the IPCC (IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change) for reporting by countries to UNFCCC. Work to furtherharmonise EMEP and IPCC systems continue. The reports prepared by the ETC/ACC, and its predecessor ETC/AE, can be found through the EEA web site www.eea.eu.int . In addition to the reports, ETC/ACC has prepared a database with time series of aggregated emissions estimates for all EU Member States, which is available for public access through the EEA Data Service . See for more information the EEA and ETC/ACC web sites: |