Greenhouse gas emissions, base year 1990 (t2020

The indicator shows trends in total man-made emissions of the "Kyoto basket" of greenhouse gases. It presents annual total emissions in relation to "Kyoto base year". In general the base year is 1990 for the non-fluorinated gases and 1995 for the fluorinated gases. The "Kyoto basket" of greenhouse gases includes: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and the so-called F-gases (hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)). These gases are aggregated into a single unit using gas-specific global warming potential (GWP) factors. The aggregated greenhouse gas emissions are expressed in units of CO2 equivalents.
The European Union (EU) as a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reports annually its greenhouse gas inventory for the year t-2 and within the area covered by its Member States. The inventory also constitutes the EU-15 submission under the Kyoto Protocol. The EU greenhouse gas inventory is the most relevant and accurate source of information on greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, and serves to monitor all anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol. The inventory contains data on carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). The EU inventory is fully consistent with national greenhouse gas inventories compiled by the EU Member States.

The indicator is published by Eurostat based on data from the European Environment Agency (EEA).

The indicator is Sustainable Development Indicators (SDI) set (tsdcc100), as it has been chosen for the assessment of the progress towards the objectives and targets of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy. It is also a Resource Efficiency Indicator (t2020_30) as it has been chosen as a dashboard indicator presented in the Resource Efficiency Scoreboard for the assessment of progress towards the objectives and targets of the Europe 2020 flagship initiative on Resource Efficiency.

The indicator tsdcc100 has two tables: one with the index year 1990 and a second one indexed to Kyoto base year.

tsdcc100´s tables within the SDI set: Eurobase > Tables on EU policy > Sustainable Development indicators > Climate change and energy > Greenhouse gas emissions (tsdcc100) (2 tables).
t2020_30´s table within the Europe 2020 indicators set: Eurobase > Tables on EU policy > Europe 2020 indicators > Climate change and energy > Greenhouse gas emissions (t2020_30).

3.2. Classification system

Classification in DPSIR (Driving forces, Pressures, State, Impacts, Responses): Pressure

3.3. Coverage - sector

All sectors of economic activity excluding LULUCF (land use, land-use change and forestry)

3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions

Not available

3.5. Statistical unit

Data are reported by countries according the UNFCCC Reporting Guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories and following the IPCC Guidelines and Good Practice Guidance.

3.6. Statistical population

All anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer in the Member State.

3.7. Reference area

tsdcc100:
Table indexed to 1990: EU27, EFTA4 (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) and Turkey. Aggregates for EU27 and EU15 are also available.
Table indexed to Kyoto base year: EU27 (except Cyprus and Malta) and EFTA4 (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland). Aggregates for EU15 are also available.
t2020_30:
EU27, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. Aggregates for EU27 are also available.

3.8. Coverage - Time

1990 to latest reported inventory year (t-2).

3.9. Base period

The year 1990 should be the base year for the estimation and reporting of inventories. According to the provisions of Article 4, paragraph 6 of the Convention and decisions 9/CP.2 and 11/CP.4, a number of Annex I Parties that are undergoing the process of transition to a market economy are allowed to use a base year or a period of years other than 1990. ´Base years´ have been fixed for the purpose of compliance with reduction commitments by the Party under the Kyoto Protocol. Following the UNFCCC reviews of EU Member States´ ´initial reports under the Kyoto Protocol´ during 2007 and 2008 and pursuant to Article 3, Paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Kyoto Protocol, the base-year emissions for the EU-15 have been fixed to 4 265.5 Mt CO2- equivalent. The EU-27 does not have a Kyoto target and an aggregated ´base year´ for the EU-27 is therefore not applicable in any discussion of progress towards Kyoto targets.

4. Unit of measure

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tsdcc100
Index 1990 = 100
Index Kyoto base year = 100
t2020_30
Index 1990 = 100
Greenhouse gas emissions and removals should be presented on a gas-by-gas basis in units of mass with emissions by sources listed separately from removals by sinks. In addition, consistent with decision 2/CP.3, Annex I Parties should report aggregate emissions and removals of greenhouse gases, expressed in CO2 equivalent terms at summary inventory level (i.e. table Summary 1.A of the common reporting format) using GWP values provided by the IPCC in its Second Assessment Report, based on the effects of greenhouse gases over a 100-year time horizon. Annex I Parties should also report actual emissions of HFCs, PFCs and SF6 in units of mass and in CO2 equivalents.

5. Reference Period

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The official submission by an Annex I Party of its greenhouse gas inventory to the UNFCCC in year t shall cover all anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol in the year t-2.

6. Institutional Mandate

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6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements

Council Decision No. 280/2004/EC ´concerning a mechanism for monitoring Community greenhouse gas emissions and for implementing the Kyoto Protocol´ provides the legal basis for the compilation of the EU greenhouse gas inventory to the UNFCCC. The ´EU inventory system´ ensures the accuracy, comparability, consistency, completeness and timeliness of national inventories with regard to the EU greenhouse gas inventory. The main institutions involved in the compilation of the EU greenhouse gas inventory are the EU Member States, the European Commissin Directorate General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA), the European Environment Agency (EEA) and its European Topic Centre on Air and Climate Change (ETC/ACC), Eurostat, and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). Within the EU inventory system, the EEA and its ETC ACC are responsible for the annual compilation of the EU inventory and for the implementation of the EC QA/QC Programme. The European Commission has overall responsibility - official submission to the UNFCCC on behalf of the EU by 15 April every year. Eurostat is responsible for the IPCC reference approach for CO2 emissions from energy combustion. The JRC is responsible for the chapters related to agriculture and LULUCF. See inventory report for a detailed description of the institutional arrangements for the preparation of the EU greenhouse gas inventory.
The legal basis for the compilation of the EU inventory is Council Decision No. 280/2004/EC concerning a mechanism for monitoring Community greenhouse gas emissions and for implementing the Kyoto Protocol. The purpose of this decision is:
to monitor all anthropogenic GHG emissions covered by the Kyoto Protocol in the Member States;
to evaluate progress towards meeting GHG reduction commitments under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol;
to implement UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol obligations relating to national programmes, greenhouse gas inventories, national systems and registries of the EU and its Member States, and the relevant procedures under the Kyoto Protocol;
to ensure the timeliness, completeness, accuracy, consistency, comparability and transparency of reporting by the EU and its Member States to the UNFCCC secretariat. The reporting requirements for the Member States under Council Decision 280/2004/EC are elaborated in the Commission Decision 2005/166/EC laying down rules implementing Decision 280/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning a mechanism for monitoring Community greenhouse gas emissions and for implementing the Kyoto Protocol.

6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing

The main institutions involved in the compilation of the EU greenhouse gas inventory are the EU Member States, the European Commission Directorate General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA), the European Environment Agency (EEA) and its European Topic Centre on Air and Climate Change (ETC/ACC), Eurostat, and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). The Climate Change Committee, made up of all EU Member States, assists the European Commission in its tasks under Council Decision No 280/2004/EC. Within the EU inventory system, the EEA and its ETC ACC are responsible for the annual compilation of the EU inventory and for the implementation of the EU QA/QC Programme. The European Commission has overall responsibility - official submission to the UNFCCC on behalf of the EU by 15 April every year. Eurostat is responsible for the IPCC reference approach for CO2 emissions from energy combustion. The JRC is responsible for the chapters related to agriculture and LULUCF. Each Member State is responsible for the preparation of its own national greenhouse gas inventory which is the basis for the inventory of the European Union. A description of the institutional arrangements for the preparation of the EU greenhouse gas inventory can be found in the inventory report.

7. Confidentiality

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7.1. Confidentiality - policy

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.

7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment

Data are public.

8. Release policy

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8.1. Release calendar

The final submission of the EU greenhouse gas inventory to the UNFCCC is 27 May of every year. Publication by the EEA follows within a week from its official submission.

8.2. Release calendar access

See EEA website.

8.3. Release policy - user access

In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice Eurostat disseminates European statistics on Eurostat´s website (see item 10 - ´Dissemination format´) respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably. The detailed arrangements are governed by the Eurostat protocol on impartial access to Eurostat data for users.
Users can subscribe and get notifications on new reports and products via the EEA website (subscriptions tab). In addition, the European environment information and observation network (Eionet) - a partnership network of the EEA and its member and cooperating countries - is the main communication vehicule with national administrations. The EEA is responsible for developing the network and coordinating its activities. To do this, the EEA works closely together with the National Focal Points (NFPs), typically national environment agencies or environment ministries in the member countries. The NFPs are responsible for coordinating networks of the National Reference Centres (NRCs), bringing altogether around 900 experts from over 300 national institutions and other bodies dealing with environmental information. The press release on the EU greenhouse gas inventory to the UNFCCC is also sent to a network of approximately 10,000 journalists worldwide.

9. Frequency of dissemination

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Yearly data, once a year

10. Dissemination format

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10.1. Dissemination format - News release

News releases on-line.
Both the EEA and the European Commission publish press releases coinciding with the publication of the EU greenhouse gas inventory to the UNFCCC.

10.2. Dissemination format - Publications

Eurostat Statistical Books: Sustainable development in the European Union - 2011 monitoring report of the EU sustainable development strategy.
The EU Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Inventory Report represent the official submission of the EU to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The data is also used to track the EU´s performance in relation to reducing greenhouse gas emissions within its territory, which is the basis for assessing progress towards meeting Kyoto targets.

10.3. Dissemination format - online database

tsdcc100:
Eurostat Eurobase data tables
Eurostat Eurobase graph
Eurostat Eurobase map
t2020_30:
Eurostat Eurobase data table
Eurostat Eurobase graph
Eurostat Eurobase map

10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access

All data underpinning the Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 19902010 and inventory report 2012 are available from the EEA website as Annexes to the report.

10.5. Dissemination format - other

The European Commission´s own press release on the EU greenhouse gas inventory to the UNFCCC is one of the most important additional sources of dissemination.

11. Accessibility of documentation

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11.1. Documentation on methodology

The EU greenhouse gas inventory is compiled in accordance with the recommendations for inventories set out in the ´UNFCCC guidelines for the preparation of national communications by parties included in Annex 1 to the Convention, Part 1: UNFCCC reporting guidelines on annual inventories´ (FCCC/SBSTA/2004/8), to the extent possible. In addition, the Revised IPCC 1996 guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories have been applied as well as the IPCC Good practice guidance and uncertainty management in national greenhouse gas inventories, where appropriate and feasible. The reporting requirements for the Member States under Council Decision 280/2004/EC are elaborated in the Commission Decision 2005/166/EC laying down rules implementing Decision 280/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning a mechanism for monitoring Community greenhouse gas emissions and for implementing the Kyoto Protocol. According to the Council decision and the Commission decision the reporting requirements are exactly the same as for the UNFCCC, regarding content and format.

11.2. Quality management - documentation

Information on the quality assurance and quality control plan can be found in the annual inventory report. The EU QA/QC programme describes the quality objectives and the inventory quality assurance and quality control plan for the EU GHG inventory including responsibilities and the time schedule for the performance of the QA/QC procedures. Definitions of quality assurance, quality control and related terms used are those provided in IPCC Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty Management in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and Guidelines for National Systems under the Kyoto Protocol. The European Environment Agency (EEA) is responsible for the annual implementation of QA/QC procedures for the EU inventory.
The overall objectives of the EU QA/QC programme are:
to provide an EU inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and removals consistent with the sum of Member States´ inventories of greenhouse gas emissions and removals,
to establish appropriate QA/QC procedures at EU level in order to comply with requirements under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol,
to contribute to the improvement of quality of Member States´ inventories and
to provide assistance for the implementation of national QA/QC programmes. Information on the quality assurance and quality control plan can be found in the annual inventory report. The EU QA/QC programme describes the quality objectives and the inventory quality assurance and quality control plan for the EU GHG inventory including responsibilities and the time schedule for the performance of the QA/QC procedures. Definitions of quality assurance, quality control and related terms used are those provided in IPCC Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty Management in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and Guidelines for National Systems under the Kyoto Protocol. The European Environment Agency (EEA) is responsible for the annual implementation of QA/QC procedures for the EU inventory.
The overall objectives of the EU QA/QC programme are:
to provide an EU inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and removals consistent with the sum of Member States´ inventories of greenhouse gas emissions and removals,
to establish appropriate QA/QC procedures at EU level in order to comply with requirements under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol,
to contribute to the improvement of quality of Member States´ inventories and
to provide assistance for the implementation of national QA/QC programmes.

12. Quality management

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12.1. Quality assurance

See thorough description of the quality assurance and quality control plan of the Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 19902010 and inventory report 2012 in chapter 1.5 of the inventory report.

12.2. Quality management - assessment

High
Data is collected from reliable sources applying high standards with regard to the methodology. Shortcomings with regard to comparability across countries are well documented.
(See the description of Eurostat quality grades)

13. Relevance

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13.1. Relevance - User Needs

Key policy question:
What progress has been made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Europe?
Key message:
For an assessment of the progress that has been achieved towards the related key policy question see: Sustainable development in the European Union - 2011 monitoring report of the EU sustainable development strategy.
Rationale:
There is a wide scientific consensus that emissions of greenhouse gases are responsible for global warming, with potentially dramatic economic, social and environmental consequences at global level.
The ´Climate Action and Renewable Energy´ package adopted by the Council on 6 April 2009 underlined the objective of limiting the rise in global average temperature to no more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. To achieve this goal Member States agreed to reduce total EU greenhouse gas emissions by 20 % compared to 1990 by 2020. Minimising overall reduction costs to meet the 20% objective implies a 21 % reduction in emissions from sectors covered by the EU ETS compared to 2005 by 2020, on the one hand. This is to be achieved via a single EU-wide cap on ETS emissions. On the other hand, it also implies a reduction of 10 % in emissions for sectors outside the EU ETS. All Member States have agreed country-specific greenhouse gas emission limits in 2020 compared to 2005 for sectors outside the EU ETS (Council Decision 2009/406/EC).
The Europe 2020 strategy reiterates the significance of the ´Climate Action and Renewable energy´ package and includes the greenhouse gas emissions indicator among the headline indicators measuring the success of the strategy.
The European Union, as a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change (UNFCCC), reports annually on the greenhouse gas emissions within the area covered by its Member States. The Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory and inventory report, officially submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat, is prepared on behalf of the European Commission (DG CLIMA) by the European Environment Agency´s European Topic Centre for Air and Climate Change (ETC/ACC) supported by the Joint Research Centre and Eurostat.

13.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction

The annual review of Annex I Parties´ greenhouse gas inventories by ´expert review teams´ makes sure inventories are transparent, accurate, complete, consistent and comparable and are compiled according to UNFCCC and IPCC guidelines. This in turn ensures further improvements of national greenhouse gas inventories by the Parties.

13.3. Completeness

See data tables tsdcc100 and t2020_30.See data tables tsdcc100 and t2020_30.

14. Accuracy

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14.1. Accuracy - overall

High

According with the IPCC Guidelines, greenhouse gas estimates should be accurate in the sense that they are systematically neither over nor under true emissions or removals, as far as can be judged, and that uncertainties are reduced as far as practicable. Moreover, appropriate methodologies should be used, in accordance with the IPCC good practice guidance, to promote accuracy in inventories. The main institutions involved in the compilation of the EU greenhouse gas inventory are the EU Member States, the European Commission Directorate General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA), the European Environment Agency (EEA) and its European Topic Centre on Air and Climate Change (ETC/ACC), Eurostat, and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). The Climate Change Committee, made up of all EU Member States, assists the European Commission in its tasks under Council Decision No 280/2004/EC.
Within the EU inventory system, the EEA and its ETC ACC are responsible for the annual compilation of the EU inventory and for the implementation of the EU QA/QC Programme. The European Commission has overall responsibility official submission to the UNFCCC on behalf of the EU by 15 April every year. Eurostat is responsible for the IPCC reference approach for CO2 emissions from energy combustion. The JRC is responsible for the chapters related to agriculture and LULUCF.
(See the description of Eurostat quality grades)

14.2. Sampling error

Annex I Parties shall use the IPCC Guidelines to estimate and report on anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol. In preparing national inventories of these gases, Annex I Parties shall also use the IPCC good practice guidance in order to improve transparency, consistency, comparability, completeness and accuracy. In accordance with the IPCC Guidelines, Annex I Parties may use different methods (tiers) included in those guidlines, giving priority to those methods which, according to the decision trees in the IPCC good practice guidance, produce more accurate estimates. For a thorough description of sector-specific methodological choice see IPCC good practice guidance.

14.3. Non-sampling error

For a thorough description of sector-specific methodological choice see IPCC good practice guidance.

15. Timeliness and punctuality

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15.1. Timeliness

The procedures and time scales for the compilation of the EU greenhouse gas inventory and inventory report are described in Annex VI of the Commission Decision of 10 February 2005laying down rules implementing Decision No 280/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning a mechanism for monitoring Community greenhouse gas emissions and for implementing the Kyoto Protocol (2005/166/EC).

15.2. Punctuality

The procedures and time scales for the compilation of the EU greenhouse gas inventory and inventory report are described in Annex VI of the Commission Decision of 10 February 2005 laying down rules implementing Decision No 280/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning a mechanism for monitoring Community greenhouse gas emissions and for implementing the Kyoto Protocol (2005/166/EC).

16. Comparability

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16.1. Comparability - geographical

High

Comparability means that estimates of emissions and removals reported by Annex I Parties in inventories should be comparable among Annex I Parties. For this purpose, Annex I Parties should use the methodologies and formats agreed by the COP for estimating and reporting inventories. The allocation of different source/sink categories should follow the split of the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, and the IPCC Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry, at the level of its summary and sectoral tables;
Differences in the methodologies, background activity data or emission factors used in the Member States are documented in the inventory reports.
See also 14.1. Overall accuracy.
(See the description of Eurostat quality grades)

16.2. Comparability - over time

High

The same methodologies are used for the base and all subsequent years. Data is revised and updated for all years to ensure that the same methodology is applied for the whole time series.
See also 14.1. Overall accuracy.
(See the description of Eurostat quality grades)

17. Coherence

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17.1. Coherence - cross domain

Not available

17.2. Coherence - internal

Within the SDI set:
SDI: Projections of GHG emissions (tsdcc230) (EEA link)
SDI: GHG emissions by sector (tsdcc210 )
SDI: GHG intensity of energy consumption (tsdcc220 )
SDI: GHG emissions from transport (tsdtr410 )
SDI: Average carbon dioxide emissions per km from new passenger cars (tsdtr450)
Outside the SDI set:
CSI: Greenhouse gas emission trends (CSI 010 )
CSI: Greenhouse gas emission projections (CSI 011 )
TERM: Transport emissions of greenhouse gases (TERM 02 )

18. Cost and Burden

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Not estimated.

19. Data revision

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19.1. Data revision - policy

One of the objectives of the UNFCCC reporting guidelines on annual inventories is to facilitate the process of verification, technical assessment and expert review of the inventory information. According to UNFCCC Reporting Guidelines, national greenhouse gas inventories should be transparent, consistent, comparable, complete and accurate. ´Transparency´ means that the assumptions and methodologies used for an inventory should be clearly explained to facilitate replication and assessment of the inventory by users of the reported information. Annex I Parties should implement QA procedures by conducting a basic expert peer review (tier 1 QA) of their inventories in accordance with IPCC good practice guidance. Annex I Parties are also encouraged to report on any peer review of their inventory conducted nationally. All this information should allow reconstruction of the inventory by the Expert Review Teams, inter alia. A collaborative internal review mechanism has been established within the European Union to allow all participants (member states, EEA, Eurostat, and JRC) to contribute to the improvement of the quality of the EU greenhouse gas inventory.

19.2. Data revision - practice

According to Decision 22/CMP.1, each inventory submitted under the Kyoto Protocol will be subject to a thorough technical review by an ERT to assess whether the inventory has been prepared in conformity with the IPCC good practice guidance and reporting requirements.
The inventory review has two stages - the initial check stage and the individual review stage. During the initial check stage, the inventory will be assessed for timeliness and completeness, and a draft status report prepared and sent to the Party for comment. Upon finalization, the status report will be forwarded to the Compliance Committee for its consideration.
During the individual review stage, the ERT will examine the emission and removal estimates and the methodologies used in order to determine whether the IPCC good practice guidance and IPCC good practice guidance for LULUCF have been applied. It will prepare a draft review report, which will be provided to the Party concerned for comment. Once the report has been finalized, it will be forwarded to the Compliance Committee.

20. Statistical processing

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20.1. Source data

EEA

Data set 1: Greenhouse gas emissions
Data set provider: European Environment Agency based on data from covered countries
Link to the data source:
National emissions reported to the UNFCCC and to the EU Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Mechanism,
EEA aggregated and gap filled air emission data

20.2. Frequency of data collection

See UNFCCC reporting guidelines on annual inventories; Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories; and, Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty Management in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

20.3. Data collection

20.4. Data validation

20.5. Data compilation

20.6. Adjustment