Mixed trends for climate change gas emissions in Scotland

Paul Boughton
The 2010 data for the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) shows that emissions of the greenhouse gas methane dropped by 6.5 per cent when compared to 2009.  This drop is following a general trend since 2007 of decreasing methane emissions from regulated sites reporting to the SPRI.

Martin Marsden, chair of SEPA's SPRI Management Group, commented: "Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and therefore the fact that emissions are falling in Scotland is good news for Scotland’s environment. However, analyses of the information for 2010 shows that emissions of another greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, increased by 7.5 per cent. From 2007 till 2009 we had seen a general trend of decreased carbon dioxide emissions, so this increase for 2010 is disappointing. This may have resulted partly from the particularly cold weather, in January and then November/December 2010, where domestic heating demands resulted in increased emissions of this gas from the energy sector.”

The SPRI, which is dependent upon the operator providing data to SEPA, provides specific information on emissions and waste transfers to the Scottish environment by companies regulated by SEPA. Most of the operators who supplied these data are all regulated by SEPA.  We protect people from these emissions by setting license limits to achieve local air quality standards and to protect human health.  Monitoring programmes provide SEPA with the information to ensure that operators comply with these license limits.  SPRI provides a summary of the emissions over the year and although the data is not used by SEPA as a direct regulatory tool, it does help to inform communities on the scale of emissions, energy use and climate change.  

Martin added: "The SPRI aims to provide a very valuable picture of the level of pollutants released in Scotland and we have put significant effort into making this information accessible to the public and we would urge people to use it.  However, it is important for the public to understand that the SPRI data is not a league table and does not display the best and worst performers across the country. SPRI is about how much of a substance is released into the environment which is determined by the type of industry and its size."

For more information, visit www.sepa.org.uk/spri

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