Denmark's National Inventory Report 2005 - Submitted under the ...

2 Trends in Greenhouse Gas Emissions
2.1 Description and interpretation of emission trends for aggregated
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The greenhouse gas emissions are estimated according to the IPCC guidelines and are aggregated
in seven main sectors. The greenhouse gases include CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O, HFCs, PFCs and SF 6 . Figure
2.1 shows the estimated total greenhouse gas emissions in CO 2 equivalents from 1990 to 2003. The
emissions are not corrected for electricity trade or temperature variations. CO 2 is the most important
greenhouse gas followed by N 2 O and CH 4 in relative importance. The contribution to national
totals from HFCs, PFCs and SF 6 is about 1%. Stationary combustion plants, transport and agriculture
are the largest sources. The net CO2 removals by forestry and soil (Land Use Change and Forestry
(LUCF)) are about 2% of the total emissions in CO 2 equivalents in 2003. The national total
greenhouse gas emissions in CO 2 equivalents without LUCF have increased by 6.8% from 1990 to
2003 and by 4.8% with LUCF.
Industrial
processes
3%
Agriculture
14%
Waste
2%
Energy and
transportation
81%
100.000
90.000
80.000
70.000
Ã
60.000
50.000
Ã
40.000
à 30.000
20.000
10.000
0
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
CO2
CH4
N2O
HFC’s,
PFC’s, SF6
Total
Total without
LUCF
Figure 2.1. Greenhouse gas emissions in CO 2 equivalents distributed on main sectors for 2003. Left: Timeseries
for 1990 to 2003.
2.2 Description and interpretation of emission trends by gas
Carbon dioxide
The largest source to the emission of CO 2 is the energy sector, which includes combustion of fossil
fuels like oil, coal and natural gas (Figure 2.2). Public power and district heating plants contribute
with more than half of the emissions. About 22% come from the transport sector. The CO 2 emission
increased by about 9% from 2002 to 2003. The reason for this increase was mainly due to increasing
export of electricity. Also lower outdoor temperature in 2003 compared with 2002 contributed to
the increase. If the CO 2 emission is adjusted for climatic variations and electricity trade with other
countries the CO 2 emission from combustion of fossil fuels has decreased by 14,9% since 1990. The
decrease in CO 2 emissions is observed despite an almost constant gross energy consumption and
an increase in the gross national product of 30%. This is due to change of fuel from coal to natural
gas and renewable energy. As a result of the lower consumption of coal in recent years, the main
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