Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Environment Agency regulated processes in the North West decreased from 2005 to 2006, mainly due to a decrease in CO2 emissions.
Climate change is one of the biggest environmental challenges facing the world and cannot be resolved simply by restricting emissions from industry. Domestic energy consumption and transport are also having an impact and account for over 50% of GHG emitted in the region.
At a glance...
The six main greenhouse gases are nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). These gases are included in the national 12.5% reduction target agreed at Kyoto in 1997.
The UK Government has legally committed the UK to a reduction in annual emissions of these 6 gases of 12.5% from 1990 levels by 2008-2012. The Government also has a domestic CO2 target of 20% reduction from 1990 levels by 2010. In addition, the UK Government’s draft Climate Change Bill is proposing a long-term legal target for reducing CO2 emissions by 60% by 2050 and an interim legal target of 26-32% by 2020, together with the introduction of five year carbon budgets.
- CO2 is produced mainly by industries in the fuel and power and chemical sectors. CO2 accounted for 87% of GHG emissions from agency regulated premises in the region in 2006. In terms of CO2 production in 2006, 78% of total emissions were from fuel and power. Over 50% of GHG emissions from the fuel and power sector originate from Fiddlers Ferry Power Station; 7% were from the chemical industry and 5% were from waste sent to landfill. When coal prices are low or when economic activity is high we see an increase in carbon dioxide emissions as energy demand rises.
- HFCs are produced during the manufacture of refrigerants and air conditioning units. They were introduced to replace the ozone depleting chemicals such as CFCs in the early 1990s. The Chemical industry in the NW accounts for 99% of HFC emissions because Ineos Fluor, one of the only two large producers in the UK, is based in Cheshire. Since 2000, emissions of HFC have reduced significantly from the site following the commissioning of a treatment facility, which was designed to remove around 90% of emissions associated with HCFC-22 production. HFC-23, a by-product of HCFC-22 manufacture, has a global warming potential (GWP) over 11,000 times more potent than CO2, so even small amounts can have a big impact.
- SF6 has the highest GWP of the six main greenhouse gases, at around 23,900 times that of carbon dioxide. Emissions have steadily decreased and are now the lowest recorded since 1998. SF6 accounts for only 0.5% of the total GHG emissions in 2006 compared to 5% in 2000 when it was at its highest. The decrease is mainly due to a significant reduction from the Region’s biggest SF6 emission source, Magnesium Elektron at Swinton in Salford. Emissions from the site have decreased by 87% since 2000, from 425,000 kg down to 5651 kg in 2006. This is the result of less SF6 being used by the company. They are also moving towards using an alternative gas with a lower GWP to help prevent fires during the melting and casting of magnesium and its alloys.
- PFCs are used in the manufacture of materials such as Teflon and Gore-Tex and in the production of refrigeration units and fire extinguishers. PFCs are extremely potent greenhouse gases, and they are a long-term problem with a lifetime up to 50,000 years. The most abundant atmospheric PFC is tetrafluoromethane which has a greenhouse warming potential 6,500 times that of carbon dioxide. F2 Chemicals Ltd in Preston is the North West’s biggest source of PFCs, but accounted for less than 0.4% of the regional industrial GHG emissions from Agency regulated sites in 2006.
- Methane gas is created when organic material rots down in wet conditions. It has a GWP 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Although livestock farming is the biggest source of methane, landfills also produce significant quantities of the gas. Around 12% of Environment Agency regulated methane emissions come from one landfill site in Warrington.
- N2O. Globally, the biggest source of N2O is from the application of fertilisers to agricultural land. The overall contribution of N2O to regional GHG emissions in 2006 is 1.3% from Environment Agency regulated processes, mainly from the chemical industry and to a lesser extent, energy production.
The graph shows the emissions of the six GHG from Environment Agency regulated processes in the North West from 1998 to date.
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