Aarhus University Seal

No. 56: Denmark's National Inventory Report 2013. Emission Inventories 1990-2011

Nielsen, O.-K., Plejdrup, M.S., Winther, M., Nielsen, M., Gyldenkærne, S., Mikkelsen, M.H., Albrektsen, R., Thomsen, M., Hjelgaard, K., Hoffmann, L., Fauser, P., Bruun, H.G., Johannsen, V.K., Nord-Larsen, T., Vesterdal, L., Møller, I.S., Caspersen, O.H., Rasmussen, E., Petersen, S.B., Baunbæk, L. & Hansen, M.G. 2013. Denmark's National Inventory Report 2013. Emission Inventories 1990-2011 - Submitted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Aarhus University, DCE – Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, 1202pp. Scientific Report from DCE – Danish Centre for Environment and Energy. http://www.dmu.dk/Pub/SR56.pdf.

 

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) 2013 for submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, due April 15, 2013. The report contains detailed information about Denmark’s inventories for all years from 1990 to 2011. The structure of the report is in accordance with the UNFCCC guidelines on reporting and review. The main difference between Denmark’s NIR 2013 report to the European Commission, due March 15, 2013, and this report to UNFCCC is reporting of territories. The NIR 2013 to the EU Commission was for Denmark, while this NIR 2013 to the 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 2011, in order to ensure transparency.

The annual emission inventories for the years from 1990 to 2011 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. The information presented in Chapters 2-9 and Chapter 11 refers to Denmark (EU) only. Specific information regarding the submission of Greenland and the Faroe Islands is included in Chapter 16 and Annex 8, respectively. Chapter 17 contains information (e.g. on trends, uncertainties and key category analysis) on the aggregated submission of Denmark and Greenland under the Kyoto Protocol.

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 nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) and sulphur dioxide (SO2). Since no GWPs are assigned to 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 2011. The emissions are not corrected for electricity trade or temperature variations. CO2 is the most important greenhouse gas contributing in 2011 to national total in CO2 equivalents excluding LULUCF (Land Use and Land Use Change and Forestry) with 78.0 % followed by N2O with 10.7 %, CH4 9.8 % and F-gases (HFCs, PFCs and SF6) with 1.5 %. Seen over the time series from 1990 to 2011 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 to emissions of greenhouse gases, followed by Industrial processes, Waste, Fugitive emissions and Solvents, see Figure ES.1. The net CO2 uptake by LULUCF in 2011 is 4.7 % of the total emission in CO2 equivalents excl. LULUCF. The national total greenhouse gas emission in CO2 equivalents excluding LULUCF has decreased by 18.1 % from 1990 to 2011 and 27.8 % 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 2011 were 9.7 Gg CO2 equivalents, hereof 0.2 Gg CO2 equivalents owe to N2O emissions from disturbance of soils. Net removals from Forest Matter (FM) were 6 313.6 Gg CO2 equivalents (Table ES.1) hereof 12.2 Gg CO2 equivalents owe to N2O emissions from drainage of soils.

For Cropland Management (CM) the net emissions in 2011 were 3 367.8 Gg CO2 equivalents compared to a net emission in 1990 of 5 053.9 Gg CO2 equivalents.

For Grassland Management (GM) the net emissions in 2011 were 234.6 Gg CO2 equivalents compared to a net emission in 1990 of 184.0 Gg CO2 equivalents.

Table ES.1   Emissions and removals in 2011 for activities relating to Article 3.3 and Article 3.4.

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

ES.3.1 Greenhouse gas emissions inventory

Energy

The largest source of CO2 emission 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 24.5 % from 1990 to 2011. 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 decrease from 2010 to 2011 owe to decreasing fuel consumption, mainly for coal and natural gas. Part of the decrease owe to increasing production of wind power.

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 from 2001 to 2011 due to the liberalisation of the electricity market. The CO2 emission from the transport sector increased by 19.7 % from 1990 to 2011, mainly due to increasing road traffic.

Industrial processes

The GHG emissions from industrial processes, i.e. emissions from processes other than fuel combustion, amount in 2011 to 3.3 % 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 2011 with 1.2 % of the national total – decreased by 23.8 % from 1990 to 2011. 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 158.9 % from 1995 until 2011, 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 90 % in 2011. 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 0.3 % of the total greenhouse gas emissions in CO2 equivalents. There is a 43.8 % decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from solvent and other product use from 1990 to 2011. In 2011 N2O comprises 9.6 % of the total CO2 equivalent emissions for solvent and other product use.

Agriculture

The agricultural sector contributes in 2010 with 17.2 % 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 2011, the contribution of N2O and CH4 to the total emission of these gases was 91.7 % and 75.5 %, respectively. The N2O emission from agriculture decreased by 33.5 % from 1990 to 2011. 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 2011, 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 2.2 % from 1990 to 2011.

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 2011 LULUCF was a net sink with 4.7 % of the total GHG emission excluding LULUCF. In 2010 LULUCF was a net sink equivalent to 0.8 % of the total GHG emission (excluding LULUCF). In 2011 Forest Land was a large sink of 6 387 CO2 equivalents, while Cropland, Grassland, Wetlands and Settlements was net sources contributing with 3 337 Gg CO2 equivalents, 248 Gg CO2 equivalents, 80 Gg CO2 equivalents and 56 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 2011 with 1.8 % to the national total of greenhouse gas emissions (excl. LULUCF), 15.7 % of the total CH4 emission and 2.1 % 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 41.4 % from 1990 to 2011. This decrease is a result of (1) a decrease in the CH4 emission from solid waste disposal sites (SWDS) by 52.7 % 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 24.3 % due to upgrading of WW treatment plants. These decreases are counteracted by an increase in CH4 from WW of 15.0 % due to increasing industrial load to WW systems. In 2011 the contribution of CH4 from SWDS was 12.7 % of the total CH4 emission. The CH4 emission from WW amounts in 2011 to 1.4 % of the total CH4 emissions. The emission of N2O from WW in 2011 is 1.3 % 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 2011 the activities under Article 3.3 was a net source of 9.7 Gg CO2 equivalents and the activities under Article 3.4 was a net sink of 2 711 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 1990-2010 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.

In response to a recommendation during the EU ESD review in May-August of 2012, a recalculation was made regarding LPG use. In previous inventory, submissions the LPG use in road transport was calculated bottom-up in the Danish road transport model. However, the difference between the bottom-up calculated LPG use and the official energy statistics was not handled. In the 2013 submission, the residual LPG use has been allocated to stationary combustion in residential plants. The allocation has been done in dialogue with the Danish Energy Agency. In general, the change in emission is very small. For most years, this has meant an increase in the reported emissions, but for some years in the early part of the time series the emissions have decreased.

The disaggregation of emissions in 1A2 Manufacturing industries and construction has been recalculated based on further improvements to the methodology that was implemented in the 2012 submission. This has caused a reallocation of emissions from industrial plants. The main change being that less emission are allocated to 1A2f Other and that emissions reported for especially 1A2c Chemicals, 1A2d Pulp, Paper and Print and 1A2e Food Processing, Beverages and Tobacco have increased.

A recalculation for stationary combustion was done as a consequence of the recalculation described for national navigation. An additional amount of fuel oil was allocated to stationary combustion in manufacturing industries and stationary combustion in agriculture and forestry.

Mobile sources

The following recalculations and improvements of the emission inventories have been made since the emission reporting in 2012.

Road transport

The total mileage per vehicle category from 1990-2010 have been updated based on new data prepared by DTU Transport, Technical University of Denmark, and minor fuel statistical changes from the Danish Energy Agency. Most importantly, the annual mileage for all vehicle types has been revised based on data from the Danish vehicle inspection and maintenance program. Further, fuel efficiency data for new sold passenger cars in Denmark has been used to modify the default fuel consumption factors proposed by COPERT IV. Also, revisions have been made to the cut-off mileage for N2O emission deterioration for catalyst cars, being in line with the updated version of COPERT IV.

The percentage emission change interval and year of largest percentage differences (low %; high %, year) for the different emission components are: CO2 (0 %; -0.2 %, 2010), CH4 (-11.7 %; 5.8 %, 1985) and N2O (-10.1 %; 0.8 %, 1996).

Navigation

The ferry shares of round trips have been updated for the years 2008-2010 causing minor emission changes for domestic navigation. The following largest percentage differences (in brackets) for domestic navigation are noted for: CO2 (0.1 %), CH4 (-0.1 %) and N2O (0.1 %).

Agriculture/forestry/fisheries

The number of machine pool tractors has been updated for the years 2008-2010, causing minor emission changes. 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 1990-2010.The following largest percentage differences (in brackets) for military are noted for: CO2 (0 %), CH4 (-7.4 %) and N2O (-1.8 %).

Aviation

Emission changes occur for the years 2001-2010 due to a change in the CH4 emission factors for aviation, now being in line with the factors proposed by the EMEP/EEA emission inventory guidebook. The following largest percentage differences (in brackets) are noted for the year 2005: CH4 (-48.5 %)

Fugitive emissions

In the 2013 emission inventory submission there have been some recalculations as listed below.

Exploration

An error in the annual reports from the crude oil terminal has been corrected, resulting in a change of the CH4 and NMVOC emissions in 2010 of -221 Mg and 221 Mg corresponding to -2.4 % and 2.4 % of the total fugitive CH4 and NMVOC in 2010, respectively.

Onshore loading

The implied emission factor is updated for 2010 due to the emission reduction initiatives at the crude oil terminal and harbor terminal, resulting in a decrease of the CH4 and NMVOC emissions of 17 Mg and 396 Mg, corresponding to 0.3 % and 4.5 % of the total fugitive CH4 and NMVOC emission in 2010, respectively.

Refineries

A reallocation of SO2 emissions from one of the two Danish refineries has been implemented for the years 2005-2010. The reallocation has been carried out in close cooperation with the contact person at the relevant refinery. The changes have led to an increase of the SO2 emission in the NFR category “1 B 2 a iv Refining / storage” of 32 to 182 Mg (min.: 2006, max.: 2007) corresponding to 3.1 % and 12 % of the total fugitive SO2 emission in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

Natural gas distribution

Natural gas distribution has been recalculated for 2009 and 2010 according to the annual reports from two of the Danish distribution companies. The recalculation has increased the fugitive CH4 emission by 9 Mg and 19 Mg corresponding to 0.2 % and 0.4 % of the total fugitive CH4 in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Also, the recalculation has increased the fugitive NMVOC emission by 31 Mg and 1 Mg corresponding to 0.3 % and 0.01 % of the total fugitive NMVOC in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Venting

A minor change has been applied as the 2010 annual report from a natural gas storage facility has become available. The increase of the CH4 and NMVOC emission is 10 Mg and 4 Mg, corresponding to 0.2 % and 0.04 % of the total fugitive CH4 and NMVOC emission in 2010, respectively.

Flaring

CO2 from flaring in 2010 has been updated due to a minor correction of the CO2 emission factor.

Industrial processes

F-gas – Hard foam: A few corrections have been made in the CRF for consumption of HFC-134a to hard foam – IEF and stock, however, no methodological changes have been implemented.

Solvent and other product use

Improvements and additions are continuously being implemented due to the comprehensiveness and complexity of the use and application of solvents in industries and households. The main improvements in the 2013 reporting include the following:

  • Recalculations increased the 2010 NMVOC emissions with approximately 500 t. The changes are caused by updated use category distribution keys (UCN) obtained from the Substances in Preparations In the Nordic countries (SPIN) database. Comprised chemicals are ethanol, turpentine, propyl alcohol, cyanates, xylene, butanoles and glycolethers in various use categories. Emission factors are identical to previous calculations, but since distributions of used amounts of chemicals in SNAP categories are adjusted the emissions are changed.
  • There are changes in the used amount of ethanol in windscreen washing agents as a result of adjusted ethanol content in imported anti frost agents.
  • The use of candles is included for the first time in this year’s inventory.

Agriculture

Some changes in calculation of agricultural emissions 1990-2010 have taken place. The recalculation has contributed to an increase in the total agricultural emissions for the years 1990-2009 of 0.7 % and an increase in 2010 of 1.0 % given in CO2 equivalent.

The recalculation for 1990-2009 is only due to recalculation of emissions from agricultural soils. The two biggest recalculations are seen for cultivation of histolsols and pasture, range and paddock. The area of histolsols has been recalculated due to change in the Land Use matrix. The recalculation increased the area of histolsols. This increased the emission of N2O by 47-64 Gg CO2 equivalents. The calculation of N2O from pasture, range and paddock has been changed due to recommendation from the EU ESD review. It was recommended not to subtract N from the NH3 emission from grazing animals before calculation of N2O. This increased the amount of N and the emission of N2O increased 15-25 Gg CO2 equivalents.

A minor recalculation of 4.D.3.2 Nitrogen Leaching and Run-off have been made due to updated values. These recalculations decreased the emission in 1990-2000 and 2006-2009 and increased the emission in 2000-2005 by -7 - +6 Gg CO2 equivalents.

In 2010 recalculations have been made for the above-mentioned sources and for 4.A Enteric Fermentation and 4.B Manure Management. The recalculation for 4.A and 4.B is due to updated values for the number of animals. The number of fur animals has been updated due to updated numbers from Dst. The number of weaners, fattening pigs and hens has been updated due to correction of errors in the calculation of the numbers. These changes in the number of animals increase the emission of CH4 from enteric fermentation by 6 Gg CO2 equivalents and manure management by 13 Gg CO2 equivalents and the emission of N2O from manure management by 1 Gg CO2 equivalents. It also increases the emission of N2O from 4.D.1.2 Animal Manure Applied to Soils.

The emission of N2O from sewage sludge and industrial waste has been changed for 2010 due to updated values for N. This change decreases the emission with 1 Gg CO2 equivalents.

LULUCF

During the last year a large effort has been put into developing a new and more precise land use matrix. The new matrix is more based on updated precise vector maps than previous, and to a lesser extent on remote sensing. In the new land use matrix, most land, which previously were reported as Other Land, are now reported under Grassland and Wetland including the large area with lakes. Other Land now includes only beaches and sand dunes. Another effect is that afforested area since 1990 has increased. The updated land use matrix has affected all emission estimates where land use conversion is included.

Forestry

In comparison to last submission, a shift will be noted due to erroneous reporting of forest carbon pools last time. This has been corrected, but otherwise estimation methods are similar to the last reporting. There are sampling errors, but basically the continuous sampling, with partial replacement, provide stable estimates of the carbon pools in forests.

Cropland, grassland, wetlands and settlements

Besides the effect of the new land use matrix, new and improved data have been used for estimating the emission from the organic agricultural soils. Some of these land areas were previous reported under Grassland but are now reported under Cropland as our analysis has shown that more areas are under cultivation than previously thought.

An updated estimate for the lime consumption in 2010 has been implemented.

Waste

Solid waste disposal on land

The recalculation of emissions from Solid Waste Disposal on Land is caused by adjustments in half-life times, minor changes in the mass balances of waste types versus categories and not least new data from the Energy statistics on the amount of methane collected as well as updated information on the density of methane. A reduction in the density of methane in the recovered biogas combined with the delayed released of methane from historic deposited waste amounts are the main reason for the increase in net emissions from solid waste disposal sites.

Wastewater handling

For Wastewater Handling recalculations have been made to the N2O emission. Smaller changes in the effluent tonnes N for the years 2007-2010 have been made due to updated information from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DEPA). The major reason for the observed reduction of the total emission from sector 6.B is the elimination of a correction factor that was not justified after verification of nitrogen effluent data with the newest reporting of effluent data in the report series “point sources” published by DEPA.

Waste Incineration

The numbers of decimals have been reduced for activity data and emission factors for animal cremation. This change has caused a miniscule change in emissions for 1990-2010 between -0.01 % and 0.03 %.

Waste Other

Activity data for composting of garden and park waste from the waste statistics includes wood chipping; in previous submissions this relatively small part of the activity was subtracted in the whole time series with help from surrogate data (available for 1997-2000). The influence that this exclusion of wood chipping had on the activity data (3-6 %) could not justify the increase in uncertainty that it caused. Therefore, wood chipping is now included, adding in average 4 % to the total composting activity data.

For accidental building fires a small mistake in the calculation of FSE activity data for container fires has been corrected, giving a decrease for 1990-2010 between 0.3 % (2007) and 0.6 % (2009) for CO2 and a decrease of around 0.02 % for CH4. Since container fires are just a small part of the fires contributing to emissions from accidental building fires, this recalculation is practically undetectable.

For accidental vehicle fires, an update in vehicle population data from Jensen et al. (2012) has given a very small decrease in the FSE activity data for accidental truck and passenger car fires. The effect on the calculated emissions is a decrease of up to 0.04 %.

KP-LULUCF

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

This is due to:

  • A revision of the land use matrix for the entire period 1990 to 2011.
  • Updated data from the Danish National Forest Inventory (NFI) for carbon stock changes in above/below ground, dead wood and litter.
  • New and better data on the agricultural practise on organic soils. This has moved some of the organic soils from grazing land to cropland, which again has lowered the emission from grassland and increased the emission from cropland.
  • An updated consumption of lime for 2010.