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No. 19: Denmark's National Inventory Report 2012. Emission Inventories 1990-2010.

Nielsen, O.-K., Mikkelsen, M.H., Hoffmann, L., Gyldenkærne, S., Winther, M., Nielsen, M., Fauser, P., Thomsen, M., Plejdrup, M.S., Albrektsen, R., Hjelgaard, K., Bruun, H.G., Johannsen, V.K., Nord-Larsen, T., Bastrup-Birk, A., Vesterdal, L., Møller, I.S., Rasmussen, E., Arfaoui, K., Baunbæk, L. & Hansen, M.G. 2012. Denmark's National Inventory Report 2012. Emission Inventories 1990-2010 - Submitted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Aarhus University, DCE – Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, 1168 pp. Scientific Report from DCE – Danish Centre for Environment and Energy No. 19. http://www2.dmu.dk/Pub/SR19.pdf

Executive summary

ES.1 Background information on greenhouse gas inventories and climate change

ES.1.1 Reporting

This report is Denmark’s National Inventory Report (NIR) 2012 for submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change and the Kyoto Protocol, due April 15, 2012. The report contains detailed information about Denmark’s inventories for all years from 1990 to 2010. The structure of the report is in accordance with the UNFCCC guidelines on reporting and review. The main difference between Denmark’s NIR 2012 report to the European Commission, due March 15, 2012, and this report to UNFCCC is reporting of territories. The NIR 2012 to the EU Commission was for Denmark, while this NIR 2012 to UNFCCC is for Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The suggested outline provided by the UNFCCC secretariat has been followed to include the necessary information under the Kyoto Protocol. The report includes detailed and complete information on the inventories for all years from year 1990 to the year 2010, in order to ensure transparency.

The annual emission inventories for the years from 1990 to 2010 are reported in the Common Reporting Format (CRF). Within this submission separate CRF’s are available for Denmark (EU), Greenland, the Faroe Islands, for Denmark and Greenland (KP) as well as for Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands (UNFCCC). The CRF spreadsheets contain data on emissions, activity data and implied emission factors for each year. Emission trends are given for each greenhouse gas and for total greenhouse gas emissions in CO2 equivalents.

The issues addressed in this report are: Trends in greenhouse gas emissions, description of each emission category of the CRF, uncertainty estimates, explanations on recalculations, planned improvements and procedure for quality assurance and control.

This report itself does not contain the full set of CRF tables. The full set of CRF tables is available at the EIONET, Central Data Repository, kept by the European Environmental Agency:

http://cdr.eionet.europa.eu/dk/Air_Emission_Inventories

In the report English notation is used: “.” (full stop) for decimal sign and mostly space for division of thousands. The English notation for division of thousand as “,” (comma) is not used due to the risk of being misinterpreted by Danish readers.

ES.1.2 Institutions responsible

On behalf of the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Building the Danish Centre for Environment and Energy (DCE), Aarhus University, is responsible for the calculation and reporting of the Danish national emission inventory to EU and the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and UNECE CLRTAP (Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution) conventions. Hence, DCE prepares and publishes the annual submission for Denmark to the EU and UNFCCC of the National Inventory Report and the greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories in the Common Reporting Format, in accordance with the UNFCCC guidelines. Further, DCE is responsible for reporting the national inventory for the Kingdom of Denmark to the UNFCCC. DCE is also the body designated with overall responsibility for the national inventory under the Kyoto Protocol for Greenland and Denmark. Furthermore, DCE participates when reporting issues are discussed in the regime of UNFCCC and EU (Monitoring Mechanism).

The work concerning the annual greenhouse gas emission inventory is carried out in cooperation with Danish ministries, research institutes, organisations and companies. The Government of Greenland is responsible for finalising and transferring the inventory for Greenland to DCE. The Faroe Islands Environmental Agency is responsible for finalising and transferring the inventory for the Faroe Islands to DCE.

ES.1.3 Greenhouse gases

The greenhouse gases reported are those under the UN Climate Convention:

  • Carbon dioxide                  CO2
  • Methane                               CH4
  • Nitrous Oxide                     N2O
  • Hydrofluorocarbons         HFCs
  • Perfluorocarbons               PFCs
  • Sulphur hexafluoride       SF6

The global warming potential (GWP) for various greenhouse gases has been defined as the warming effect over a given time frame of a given weight of a specific substance relative to the same weight of CO2. The purpose of this measure is to be able to compare and integrate the effects of the individual greenhouse gases on the global climate. Typical lifetimes in the atmosphere of greenhouse gases are very different, e.g. approximately 12 and 120 years for CH4 and N2O, respectively. So the time perspective clearly plays a decisive role. The life frame chosen is typically 100 years. The effect of the various greenhouse gases can then be converted into the equivalent quantity of CO2, i.e. the quantity of CO2 giving the same effect in absorbing solar radiation. According to the IPCC and their Second Assessment Report, which UNFCCC has decided to use as reference, the global warming potentials for a 100-year time horizon are:

  • Carbon dioxide (CO2):                                                                     1
  • Methane (CH4):                                                                             21
  • Nitrous oxide (N2O):                                                                     310

Based on weight and a 100-year period, CH4 is thus 21 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2 and N2O is 310 times more powerful than CO2. Some of the other greenhouse gases (hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride) have considerably higher global warming potentials. For example, sulphur hexafluoride has a global warming potential of 23 900. The values for global warming potential used in this report are those prescribed by UNFCCC. The indirect greenhouse gases reported are Nitrogenoxide (NOx), Carbonmonooxide (CO), Non-Methane Volatile Organic Compound (NMVOC) and Sulphurdioxid (SO2). Since no GWP is assigned these gases they do not contribute to GHG emissions in CO2 equivalents.

ES.2 Summary of national emission and removal trends

Summary ES.2-4 is the inventory for Denmark only. The inventories for Greenland, Denmark and Greenland and the Faroe islands are described in Chapter 16 and 17 and Annex 8, respectively.

ES.2.1 Greenhouse gas emissions inventory

The greenhouse gas emissions are estimated according to the IPCC guidelines and guidance and are aggregated into seven main sectors. According to decisions made under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol the greenhouse gas emissions are estimated according to the IPCC 1996 guidelines and the IPCC 2000 good practice guidance. The greenhouse gases include CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs and SF6. Figure ES.1 shows the estimated total greenhouse gas emissions in CO2 equivalents from 1990 to 2010. The emissions are not corrected for electricity trade or temperature variations. CO2 is the most important greenhouse gas contributing in 2010 to national total in CO2 equivalents excluding LULUCF (Land Use and Land Use Change and Forestry) with 79.1 % followed by N2O with 10.0 %, CH4 9.4 % and F-gases (HFCs, PFCs and SF6) with 1.5 %. Seen over the time-series from 1990 to 2010 these percentages have been increasing for F-gases, almost constant for CO2 and CH4 and decreasing for N2O. Stationary combustion plants, Transport and Agriculture represent the largest contributing categories, followed by Industrial processes, Waste and Solvents, see Figure ES.1 (report, page 12. The net CO2 uptake by LULUCF in 2010 is 3.6 % of the total emission in CO2 equivalents excl. LULUCF. The national total greenhouse gas emission in CO2 equivalents excluding LULUCF has decreased by 11.0 % from 1990 to 2010 and decreased 19.4 % including LULUCF. Comments to the overall trends for the individual greenhouse gases etc. seen in Figure ES.1 are given in the sections below.

ES.2.2 KP-LULUCF activities

Net emissions from Afforestation, Reforestation and Deforestation (ARD) activities in 2010 were 41.1 Gg CO2 equivalents, hereof 0.6 Gg CO2 equivalents owe to N2O emissions from disturbance of soils. Net removals from Forest Matter (FM) were 5 677.3 Gg CO2 equivalents (Table ES.1, report page 13) hereof 12.0 Gg CO2 equivalents owe to N2O emissions from drainage of soils.

For Cropland Management (CM) the net emissions in 2010 were 3284.6 Gg CO2 equivalents compared to a net emission in 1990 of 6 650.4 Gg CO2 equivalents.

For Grassland Management (GM) the net emissions in 2010 were 171.3 Gg CO2 equivalents compared to a net emission in 1990 of 205.1 Gg CO2 equivalents.

ES.3 Overview of source and sink category emission estimates and trends

ES.3.1 Greenhouse gas emissions inventory

Energy

The largest source of the emission of CO2 is the energy sector, which includes the combustion of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas.

The emission of CO2 from Energy Industries has decreased by 9.8 % from 1990 to 2010. The relatively large fluctuation in the emission is due to inter-country electricity trade. Thus, the high emissions in 1991, 1996, 2003 and 2006 reflect a large electricity export and the low emissions in 1990 and 2005 are due to a large import of electricity. The increasing emission of CH4 during the nineties is due to the increasing use of gas engines in decentralised cogeneration plants. The CH4 emissions from this sector have been decreasing since 2001 due to the liberalisation of the electricity market. The CO2 emission from the transport sector increased by 23.4 % from 1990 to 2010, mainly due to increasing road traffic.

Industrial processes

The emissions from industrial processes, i.e. emissions from processes other than fuel combustion, amount in 2010 to 2.8 % of the total emission in CO2 equivalents (excl. LULUCF). The main sources are cement production, refrigeration, foam blowing and calcination of limestone. The CO2 emission from cement production – which is the largest source contributing in 2010 with 1.1 % of the national total – decreased by 23.8 % from 1990 to 2010. The second largest source has previously been N2O from the production of nitric acid. However, the production of nitric acid/fertiliser ceased in 2004 and therefore the emission of N2O also ceased.

The emission of HFCs, PFCs and SF6 has increased by 161.5 % from 1995 until 2010, largely due to the increasing emission of HFCs. The use of HFCs, and especially HFC-134a, has increased several fold and thus HFCs have become the dominant F-gases, contributing 67 % to the F-gas total in 1995, rising to 94 % in 2010. HFC-134a is mainly used as a refrigerant. However, the use of HFC-134a is now stabilising. This is due to Danish legislation, which in 2007 banned new HFC-based refrigerant stationary systems. However, in contrast to this trend is the increasing use of air conditioning systems in mobile systems.

Solvent and other product use

The use of solvents in industries and households and other product use contribute 0.1 % of the total greenhouse gas emissions in CO2 equivalents. There is an 18 % decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2010. In 2010 N2O comprises 19 % of the total CO2 equivalent emissions for solvent and other product use.

Agriculture

The agricultural sector contributes in 2010 with 15.6 % of the total greenhouse gas emission in CO2 equivalents (excl. LULUCF) and is the most important sector regarding the emissions of N2O and CH4. In 2010, the contribution of N2O and CH4 to the total emission of these gases was 91.2 % and 73.8 %, respectively. The N2O emission from agriculture decreased by 34.6 % from 1990 to 2010. The main reason for the decrease is a legislative demand for an improved utilisation of nitrogen in manure. This result in less nitrogen excreted per livestock unit produced and a considerable reduction in the use of fertilisers. From 1990 to 2010, the emission of CH4 from enteric fermentation has decreased due to decreasing numbers of cattle. However, the emission from manure management has increased due to changes in stable management systems towards an increase in slurry-based systems. Altogether, the emission of CH4 for the agricultural sector has decreased by 2.3 % from 1990 to 2010.

Land Use and Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF)

The LULUCF sector alters between being a net sink and a net source of GHG. In 2010 LULUCF was a net sink with 3.5 % of the total GHG emission excluding LULUCF. In 2009 LULUCF was a net sink equivalent to 1.4 % of the total GHG emission (excluding LULUCF). In 2010 Forest Land was a large sink of 5 677 CO2 equivalents, while Cropland, Grassland, Wetlands and Settlements was net sources contributing with 3 186 Gg CO2 equivalents, 186 Gg CO2 equivalents, -0.02 Gg CO2 equivalents and 134 Gg CO2 equivalents, respectively. The emission from Croplands is mainly due to emissions from organic soils. Since 1990 there has been a decrease in the total C-stock in mineral agricultural soils. Despite the global warming it seems that this decrease has stabilized so that it is possible to maintain the current C-stock level in soil. The area classified as organic agricultural soils is decreasing rapidly due its shallow nature. As a consequence the emission from these is decreasing too.

Waste

The waste sector contributes in 2010 with 1.6 % to the national total of greenhouse gas emissions (excl. LULUCF), 15.4 % of the total CH4 emission and 2.2 % of the total N2O emission. The sector comprises solid waste disposal on land, wastewater handling, waste incineration without energy recovery (e.g. incineration of animal carcasses) and other waste (e.g. composting and accidental fires).

The GHG emission from the sector has decreased by 41.8 % from 1990 to 2010. This decrease is a result of (1) a decrease in the CH4 emission from solid waste disposal sites (SWDS) by 53.1 % due to the increasing use of waste for power and heat production, and (2) a decrease in emission of N2O from wastewater (WW) handling systems of 23.4 % due to upgrading of WW treatment plants. These decreases are counteracted by an increase in CH4 from WW of 13.8 % due to increasing industrial load to WW systems. In 2010 the contribution of CH4 from SWDS was 12.5 % of the total CH4 emission. The CH4 emission from WW amounts in 2010 to 1.4 % of the total CH4 emissions. The emission of N2O from WW in 2010 is 1.4 % of national total of N2O. Since all incinerated waste is used for power and heat production, the emissions are included in the 1A CRF category.

ES.3.2 KP-LULUCF activities

In 2010 the activities under Article 3.3 was a net source of 41 Gg CO2 equivalents and the activities under Article 3.4 was a net sink of 2 221 Gg CO2 equivalents. A short overview of KP-LULUCF is given in Chapter ES.2.2 and a more detailed description is given in Chapter 11.

ES.4 Other information

ES.4.1 Quality assurance and quality control

A plan for Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) in greenhouse gas emission inventories is included in the report. The plan is in accordance with the guidelines provided by the UNFCCC (Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty Management in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and Guidelines for National Systems). ISO 9000 standards are also used as an important input for the plan.

The plan comprises a framework for documenting and reporting emissions in a way that emphasize transparency, consistency, comparability, completeness and accuracy. To fulfil these high criteria, the data structure describes the pathway, from the collection of raw data to data compilation and modelling and finally reporting.

As part of the Quality Assurance (QA) activities, emission inventory sector reports are being prepared and sent for review to national experts, not involved in the inventory development. To date, the reviews have been completed for the stationary combustion plants sector, the fugitive emissions from fuels sector, the transport sector, the solvents and other product use sector and the agricultural sector. In order to evaluate the Danish emission inventories, a project where emission levels and emission factors are compared with those in other countries has been conducted.

ES.4.2 Completeness

The Danish greenhouse gas emission inventories include all sources identified by the revised IPPC guidelines.

Please see Annex 5 for more information.

ES.4.3 Recalculations and improvements

The main improvements of the inventories are:

Energy

Stationary Combustion

For stationary combustion plants, the emission estimates for the years 1990-2009 have been updated according to the latest energy statistics published by the Danish Energy Agency. The update included both end use and transformation sectors as well as a source category update.

The relatively large recalculations for CO2 emission from the fuel category “Other fuels” is a result a revised CO2 emission factor for fossil waste incineration. This emission factor has been recalculated based on a large number of measurements performed at Danish plants in 2010-2011. The CO2 emission factor is 14 % higher than the emission factor applied last year. The estimated emission from fuel category Other fuels in 1A1a Public electricity and Heat production in 2009 has increased 14 % corresponding to 170 Gg CO2.

The disaggregation of emissions in 1A2 Manufacturing industries and construction has been recalculated based on a new improved methodology. Thus, the changes of the estimated CO2 emission for gaseous fuels and liquid fuels in the sectors 1A2c, d, e and f are considerable, but the change in total CO2 emission in sector 1A2 are low (<1.5 % for 2009) for both fuel categories. This change is caused by other changes e.g. updating of the energy statistics. Correspondingly, some considerable recalculations for CH4 and N2O in the subsectors do not result in large changes in the aggregated sector 1A2.

The recalculations in CO2 emission from biomass (+174 Gg CO2 for 1A2 and +419 Gg for sector 1A4) are a result of revised CO2 emission factors for wood and straw. Both emission factors now refer to the IPCC Guidelines.

The CH4 emission from residential wood combustion has been recalculated based on improved technology disaggregation data. This has resulted in a 21 Gg CO2 equivalents lower emission in 2009 than reported last year.

The CH4 emission factor for refineries have been included or revised for several years. This results in improved time-series consistency but also in large relative changes for some years. However, the emission level is low and the recalculation for 2009 is below 0.5 Gg CO2 equivalents.

The N2O emission from gaseous fuels in sector 1A1c has been recalculated resulting in a decrease of 10 Gg CO2 equivalents. The N2O emission factor for off shore gas turbines now follows the emission factor for on shore gas turbines.

Mobile sources

Road transport

The total mileage per vehicle category from 1985-2009 have been updated based on new data prepared by DTU Transport. Important changes are a different split of total mileage between gasoline and diesel passenger cars based on data for the year 2008 from the Danish vehicle inspection and maintenance programme. Also updated mileage for foreign vehicles driven on Danish roads has been included.

The percentage emission change interval and year of largest percentage differences (low %; high %, year) for the different emission components are: CO2 (0.2 %; 2.6 %, 2009), CH4 (0.6 %; 1.6 %, 2009) and N2O (-0.9 %; 4.6 %, 1994)

Agriculture/forestry/fisheries

The sales distribution into engine sizes for harvesters has been updated for the years 2002, 2003 and 2009. The following largest percentage differences (in brackets) for agriculture/forestry/fisheries are noted for: CO2 (-0.3 %), CH4 (0 %) and N2O (-0.2 %).

Military

Emission factors derived from the new road transport simulations have caused some emission changes from 1985-2009. The following largest percentage differences (in brackets) for military are noted for: CO2 (0 %), CH4 (0.6 %) and N2O (0.5 %).

Aviation

Emission changes occur for the years 2007-2009, due to a correction in the representative aircraft type for new aircraft used for flying in Denmark. Due to an error F28 was previously used as a representative aircraft type for the new aircraft types CRJ9, E70, E170 and E175. However, F28 is a very old aircraft which cannot represent these new aircraft types. Instead new fuel consumption and emission factors have been calculated for the CRJ9, E70, E170 and E175 jets. The following largest percentage differences (in brackets) are noted for the year 2009: CO2 (-1.7 %), CH4 (-46.3 %), N2O (-0.6 %).

Fugitive emissions

In the 2012 emission inventory submission there have been some recalculations as listed below.

New sources

CO2 emissions have been included in the inventory for offshore extraction, pipeline transport and storage of oil, transmission of natural gas, and distribution of natural gas and town gas. This has increased the total fugitive CO2 emission in 2009 by 1.4 % and in 1990 by 0.6 %.

Refineries

Emissions of CH4 and NMVOC has been changed for the years 1994-2000 and 2002-2009 according to VOC measurements carried out in 2001, as no further information on fugitive emissions from the refineries are or will become available for other historical years. This is the result of an extended communication with one refinery leading to a recommendation to use measured emissions, rather than estimated emissions calculated by weighting the measured emissions by the annual processed crude oil amount as done in previous inventories. The fugitive emissions are more related to other conditions than the processed amounts. The split of VOC emissions provided by the refineries have been revised in order to apply a similar approach for the two refineries. For both refineries annual emissions of NMVOC and CH4 are not available, and emissions are calculated based on the provided VOC emissions and assumptions for the part of VOC being NMVOC and CH4, respectively. Assumptions are based on information from the refineries and on literature study of international proportions/-conditions.

The CH4 recalculation has increased the total fugitive emission by 1 % in 2009. The largest recalculation is in 2007 (3 %).

Updated SO2 emissions for the years 2005-2009 provided by a refinery are included in the inventory. The recalculation has increased the total fugitive SO2 emissions by 6 % in 2009.

Gas distribution

Emission factors for CH4 and NMVOC for town gas distribution has been corrected for an error. Distribution of town gas is a minor source and the recalculation is insignificant for all years (max. 0.003 % of the total fugitive CH4 emission in 2009).

Offshore flaring

Activity data has been corrected for 2008 for two offshore installations. The calorific value has been corrected for the whole time series according to the average calorific value in the EU ETS reports for 2008-2010 which affects the emission factor for CO2 and NMVOC. Further the emission factor for NMVOC has been corrected by including a conversion from Sm3 to Nm3. For 2007 the emission factor is changed to the average CO2 emission factor from EU ETS for 2008-2010 as the 2007 EU ETS reports are not as detailed for 2007 as for the following years. The activity data has been updated according to the latest figures from the Danish Energy Agency.

The recalculation has increased the fugitive CO2 emission by 1 % in 2009 and 8 % in 1990.

Flaring in refineries

The CO2 emission factor has been updated for the years 1990-2006 for flaring in refineries. The emission factor applied is estimated as the average emission factor from the EU ETS reports for the years 2006-2010 and 2007-2010 for the two refineries.

The recalculation has decreased the fugitive CO2 emission by 0.2 % in 2009 and 0.4 % in 1990.

Industrial processes

F-gas – Hard foam: A few changes have been made in the CRF-tables regarding activity data for consumption of HFCs and “IEF” as a consequence of the findings by the UNFCCC expert review team.

SF6 double glazed windows: The model for calculation of SF6 emission has been revised for 1998/1999 resulting in small changes all the following years as SF6 from double glazed windows is emitted with 1% of stock per year.

Solvent and other product use

Historic production, import and export data for NMVOCs have been included for the period 1990 to 1994. Data are collected from Statistics Denmark and the methodology is now consistent for the entire 1990 to 2010 period. N2O sales figures for 2000 to 2010 have been adjusted for export. N2O for use in race cars and in laboratories has been included. The N2O use in fire extinguishers has been investigated and no use is reported.

Emissions from charcoal use for barbeques and tobacco smoking have been included in this category.

Agriculture

Some changes of emissions from the agricultural sector have taken place. These changes reflect increased emissions in the years 1990-2008 up to 1 % and decreased emissions in 2009 of 0.7 % compared to the total CO2 equivalent emission from the agricultural sector. The increase in 1990-2008 is due to an increase in the emissions of CH4 and the decrease in 2009 is due to a decrease in the emission of N2O while the CH4 is almost unaltered.

The increase in CH4 emission is due to changes in both CH4 from enteric fermentation and manure management. As recommended by the ERT an error in the calculation of CH4 from enteric fermentation from swine is corrected. For CH4 from manure management changes are made for sows, where the data have been updated for all years and for dairy cattle a correction of an error in the calculation has been made.

For the N2O emission a range of small changes have been made which have both increasing and decreasing effect. Due to changes in the emission factor for NH3 the N2O emission from manure on soil and synthetic fertilisers increased, while the N2O emission from atmospheric deposition decreased. Data for histosols have been updated for all years and this have caused an increased N2O emission in the years 1990-1999 and a decreased emission in 2000-2009.

LULUCF

Forestry

Since the NFI was initiated in 2002 and have a 5-year rotation, a full measurement is available from 2006. Calculation of carbon stock in the period 2000-2005 is based on interpolation between the carbon stock observed in the NFI in 2006 and the carbon stock as calculated for 2000. For 2006-2011 carbon stock is calculated solely on the basis of the NFI - with additional information about the total forest area from satellite image mapping. Reported values from the NFI correspond to the last year of a five year measurement cycle (i.e. reported values for 2010 rely on data from 2006-2010). This differed from previous reporting where reported values corresponded to the midpoint of a five year rotation (i.e. reported values for 2008 rely on data from 2006-2010). This was done to enable timely and consistent reporting, as data for 2010 would otherwise not be available before winter 2012.

The recalculations have resulted in Forestry having affected the single year values but the overall development of the forest area in 2008-2010 is unchanged. N2O is only slightly affected.

Cropland, grassland, wetlands and settlements

The major change come from our study on the area with organic soils where our data has shown that today only 42 000 hectares in Cropland and 28 000 hectares in Grassland qualify as true organic soils. Furthermore, our analysis on the organic soils has shown that since 1975 the area with organic soils in cropland has decreased rapidly with an average annual decrease of 1400 hectares. The reason for this is the intensive cultivation of our very thin and shallow organic soils implying that many of them now contain 5-10 % organic carbon and not > 12 %.

The emission estimate from mineral agricultural soils is made with a Tier 3 dynamic modelling tool (C-TOOL). More thorough analysis of C-TOOL has shown that the model do not satisfactorily estimate the emissions from soils having 6-12 % organic carbon. As a consequence a fixed emission factor has been introduced for soils with 6-12 % organic carbon. This area is around 40.000 hectares in 2010. The overall emission estimates for organic agricultural soils as well as the mineral soils have therefore been recalculated.

A minor change in the default soil carbon stock for mineral soils in Cropland has been introduced. This affects all emission estimates for land use conversion to and from cropland for the whole period.

In the previous submissions no losses in mineral soils for land use conversion to Settlements has been included as there is no guidance from the IPCC on this issue. In the current submission a default C-stock of 120 ton C per ha (0-100 cm) in mineral soils in Settlements has been introduced for all land use conversion to and from Settlements. This affects all emissions from mineral soils due to land use conversion to Settlements.

Waste

For the category SWDS, each of the former waste categories have been sub-categorised into 9 fractions (waste food, cardboard, paper, wet cardboard & paper, plastics, other combustible, glass, metal and other not combustible). The SWDS model has been extended to include sub-fraction specific half-life’s and carbon content. Lastly, the methane content of the collected landfill gas has been changed from 50 % to 41 % according to new documented knowledge. These recalculations result in an increase of CH4 emissions for 1990 to 2002 and a decrease for 2003 to 2009. The largest changes are an increase of 38 % in 1990 and a decrease of 18 % in 2009.

For wastewater handling recalculations were made for CH4 emissions for 1999 to 2009, the result is an increase between 0.2 % (2000) and 1.3 % (2003). The increase in 2009 is 0.4 %. The minor changes are due to an error in one of the activity references within the model in the 2011 submission. No methodological changes have occurred.

There are no recalculations in the waste incineration category.

For the category waste other; emissions of CO2 and CH4 have decreased throughout the time series due to changes in the methodology. Changes have been made for both vehicle and building fires. For building fires these changes include two new categories of container fires and additional building fires (such as sheds and garages). Furthermore, the full scale equivalents are now calculated from 4 damage categories of 100 %, 75 %, 30 % and 5 % instead of just 3 categories in the last submission. For vehicle fires the changes include new categories of caravan-, train-, ship-, airplane-, bicycle-, tractor-, combined harvester-, other transport- and machine fires. In the 2011 submission, an average burnout of 70 % was assumed for all vehicle fires. This year, full scale equivalents are calculated using the same 4 damage categories as for building fires.

2009 activity data for composting are now available. The activity data reported last year were overestimated, and the correction has caused a decrease in CO2, CH4 and N2O for 2009.

CO2 equivalent emissions from the waste other category has decreased between 4.84 % (2002) and 8.67 % (1995). For 1990 and 2009 the decrease was 7.96 and 8.31 %, respectively

The total sectoral change is an increase for 1990-2000 and a decrease for 2001-2009. The largest changes are an increase of 31 % in 1990, and the decrease of -20 % in 2009.

KP-LULUCF

Almost all sectors in the KP-LULUCF have been recalculated.

This is due to: 

  • Updated data from the Danish NFI for C-stock changes in above-, belowground, dead wood and litter,
  • The new soil map for organic soils,
  • That the tool which estimates the emission from mineral soils has not shown to be suitable for soils having 6-12% OC.
  • New and updated data on C-stock in mineral soils from our research (0-100 cm depth).

For deforestation the main reason is a small change in living biomass and updated values on C-stock in mineral soils.

For forest management the major change is due to updated values from the NFI on C-stocks in living biomass.

For cropland management and grazing land management the changes are primarily due to the new soil map for organic soils and the new emission factors for organic soils. Analysis has shown that C-TOOL is not reliable on soil having 6-12% OC. These soils have been given a fixed emission factor of 50% of true organic soils (>12 % OC).

Further analysis of the new soil map has shown that the area with organic soils (>12 % OC) is decreasing rapidly. The effect of this has been implemented in the inventory.

In total this has increased the base emission from agricultural soils with approximately 1,000 Gg CO2 equivalent.

Loss in C stock in soils due to conversion to Settlements from all other land use categories has been implemented with a default C stock in Settlements of 120 tonnes C per ha.

For more information on KP-LULUCF recalculations please refer to Chapter 10 and 11.