Measures to reduce emissions of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCP) in the Nordic countries

Abstract

A number of measures to abate emissions of SLCPs are, to varying degrees, already in place in the Nordic countries. National emission projections, taking existing legislation and measures into account, show that total emissions of black carbon (BC) and methane (CH4) are expected to decrease to 2030. In the future, residential biomass combustion and transport will be important sources of BC, as will agriculture and waste management for CH4-emissions. The objective in this part of the project was to identify efficient additional measures to reduce emissions of SLCPs beyond the current emission projections. The assessment primarily covers BC and CH4, but as BC is part of emitted particulate matter (PM2.5) and many measures are focusing on PM2.5, reduction of PM2.5 emissions is also included in the analysis. Both technical measures, such as filters or improved technologies, and non-technical measures, such as promoting behavioural changes favouring reduced emissions are discussed in this report. A combined SLCP analysis using the GAINS model (and based on the ECLIPSE 1 project results for the Nordic countries) was carried out and additional technical measures for reduced SLCP emissions in the individual Nordic countries were assessed. The analysis shows that in order to reach the modelled technical emission reduction potential for black carbon, measures within the residential wood combustion sector should be prioritized. Among the efficient technical measures are replacement of older boilers and heating stoves with new appliances, installation of ESP (electrostatic precipitator) and high-efficiency dedusters, and fuel switch from wood logs to pellets. According to the model results, these measures would provide the highest reduction potential for BC for Denmark, Finland and Sweden, while for Norway good practice in flaring in oil and gas industries has the highest reduction potential. In Iceland the introduction of EUR 6/VI on 100% of road diesel transport is most important. The measures in the model aimed at residential combustion can reduce BC emissions in 2030 by 3.7 kt-which is about 79% of the estimated total technical BC emission reduction potential in the Nordic countries. Further emission reductions can be achieved by speeding up the diesel vehicle fleet renewal to EUR 6/VI. For methane, the large part of the emission reduction potential lies within the waste management and wastewater treatment sector (anaerobic treatment with gas recovery and upgrade), oil and gas industries, and gas distribution networks (primarily in Norway and Denmark). Full realization of the SCLP emission reduction strategy in 2030 in the Nordic countries would bring significant health benefits 2 for the whole Europe (> 60,000 life years gained)-and reduced climate impact (by ~14 Million tons CO2 equivalents).

Particle emissions in Belarus and in the Nordic countries

“…Diesel vehicles are the second largest contributor to black carbon emissions in all three countries. The contribution from power plants to black carbon emissions is insignificant for Denmark and Finland, but clearly visible for Sweden, which correlates well with the emissions according to the national projections (Kindbom et al 2018). Sectoral distribution of black carbon baseline emissions in the Nordic countries is very similar to the distribution in Belarus: the dominating source is residential combustion and the second largest source is transport.…”

“…For historical emissions of PM2.5, residential combustion and road transport have been the key emission sources from 2005 and until now (one other significant source in Sweden seems to be industrial processes). This will also be valid for the year 2030, according to the recent projections (Kindbom et al 2018).…”

“…It is important to remember that this is not the full range of measures available in 2030: for example, fuel shifts and behavioural changes are excluded from the present analysis. A good summary of relevant abatement measures for black carbon is presented in Kindbom et al 2018, where many of the non-technical measures are considered.…”

“…PM2.5 (left) and BC (right) emissions and projections in the Nordic countriesSource:Kindbom et al 2018. …”