Road transport, first responsible for the climate crisis in Spain

Greenhouse gas emissions were reduced in Spain in 2018 by 2.2% compared to 2017 (the estimate is 332.8 million tons of _CO2 equivalent). After the progressive reduction of emissions in the energy sector, transport is the main responsible for the climate crisis in Spain. In 2018, it was clearly the sector that had the greatest contribution in this Inventory. Road traffic alone accounts for 25% of total greenhouse emissions and, of these, a third are concentrated in urban agglomerations.

These are data on the progress of the inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, linked to climate change, released by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition

The decrease in emissions in 2018 is mainly due to the strong increase in hydroelectric energy production, which grew by 84.9% compared to 2017.

The other reason was the increase in wind energy production by 3.5%.

More rain and more wind

The reduction of emissions linked to electricity generation reaches 15.7%

Both issues have made it possible to reduce emissions linked to electricity generation by 15.7%.

The rise in renewable sources made it possible to reduce the production of combined cycles (-18.9%), coal (-17.2%) and that which uses liquid fuels (-4.5%).

The rest of the sector increases

The rest of the sectors have experienced an increase in their emissions compared to the previous year.

Weak point

Transport emissions increased by +2.7% and those related to fuel consumption in homes and shops, by 1.9%

Thus, in a year with an increase in GDP of 2.6%, there are increases in emissions linked to transport (+2.7%); fuel consumption in the residential, commercial and institutional sectors (+1.9%) and fuel consumption in agricultural, forestry and fishing machinery (+4.1%). Industry emissions increase by 2%.

On the other hand, emissions from agriculture do not vary compared to the 2017 figure. The increase in livestock emissions (+1.4%) is offset by the decrease in those from crops (-2.5%).

Emissions trading market

Overall, emissions from sectors subject to the European Emissions Trading System (ETS), which account for 38.2% of the total, decreased by 6.6% in 2018.

Meanwhile, emissions not subject to the system – the so-called diffuse sectors – increased by 0.6%. Under this heading, emissions from the residential, commercial and institutional fields are grouped; transport; agriculture and livestock; waste management; industry not subject to emissions trading and fluorinated gases.

A balance sheet: 15.5 percentage points more than in 1990

The overall result is that emissions in Spain have increased 15.4 percentage points above the level of emissions in 1990, the reference year for assessing measures to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

In fact, the draft of the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030 (PNIEC), sent last February to the European Commission by the Government of Spain, proposes a set of actions to reduce, in 2030, 21 percentage points compared to 1990 levels.

Transport, an analysis

After the good performance of emissions linked to electricity generation, transport becomes the sector with the highest weight in greenhouse gas emissions in 2018, 27%.

It is followed by industry (19%), electricity generation (17%), agriculture as a whole (12%), fuel consumption in the residential, commercial and institutional sectors (9%) and waste (4%).

By gases, _CO2 accounts for 81% of total emissions, followed by methane, with 12%.

Sinkholes, forests

Gross greenhouse gas emissions (332.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent) should be discounted for removals due to the land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector, which have been estimated at 37.7 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (11% of total gross emissions from the inventory in 2018).

Compensation

Forestry and land uses subtract 11% from the total emissions inventory

Therefore, net emissions in 2018 are estimated at 295.1 million tons of _CO2 equivalent.

Details by sector

The variations between 2017 and 2018 by sector are:

Transport (27% of emissions): the increase in emissions compared to 2017 is estimated at 2.7%, mainly due to the increase in emissions from road transport, which alone accounts for 25% of the total GHG emissions in the Inventory.

Specifically, the advance reflects a year-on-year increase of 2.6% in road transport, due to an increase in gasoline consumption of 4.8% and a 2.0% increase in diesel consumption. Emissions from national air transport, although they only represent 0.9% of the total, increase by 10.1% compared to the previous year.

Industry (19% of emissions): in 2018 it is estimated that its emissions increase by 2% compared to the previous year in the sector as a whole, including both those from fuel consumption (which increase by 1.7%) and emissions derived from industrial processes themselves.

Electricity generation (17% of total emissions). The decrease is estimated at 15.7% in emissions linked to fuel consumption in electricity generation. The reasons?: 0.5% drop in total electricity generation, increase in hydraulic generation (+84.9% compared to 2017 in a hydrologically very wet year) and the increase in wind energy production by 3.5%.

As a result of the increase in the use of renewable sources, electricity generation in combined cycles of natural gas decreased by -18.9%, that using coal decreased by -17.2%, and that using liquid fuels decreased by -4.5%.

Residential, commercial and institutional (accounts for 9% of the total). It experienced a 1.9% year-on-year increase in emissions motivated by the increase in the consumption of diesel C in a year that, although it was climatologically warm, registered an average temperature lower (-0.7 ºC) than that of 2017 and 12% more degree-days of heating.

Agriculture/livestock (12% of total emissions). The emissions of the sector as a whole did not change little compared to the previous year.

However, livestock activities, responsible for 67% of emissions from this sector, increased their emissions by +1.4%, mainly due to those from manure management (+2.6%) and enteric fermentation (+0.8%).

On the other hand, crop emissions decreased by -2.5%, mainly due to decreases in N2O emissions derived from the management of agricultural soils (-2%, due to the decrease in the use of inorganic fertilizers compared to the previous year) and CO emissions.₂ derived from the application of urea (-17%).

Waste (4.1% of the total): emissions are estimated in 2018 very similar to those of the previous year, with a slight variation of +0.4% due to the increase in the amounts of solid waste disposed of and treated wastewater, linked to increases in GDP and population.

Combustion in refineries (3.5% of emissions): increase in emissions from the sector by +1.4%, according to data from the ETS regime, probably linked to the increase in fuel consumption.

Fluorinated gases (1.8% of total emissions in terms of _CO2 equivalent): emissions from all fluorinated gases decreased by 20.5%, mainly due to the decrease in the use of HFCs and PFCs in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector, in accordance with and as a result of the application of the tax on fluorinated greenhouse gases established by Law 16/2013.

Forestry sector…: The removals associated with this sector have been estimated at -37.7 million tons of _CO2 equivalent (11% of gross emissions in 2018). Compared to 2017, absorptions have been lower (year-on-year variation of -1.5%). The overall decrease in removals is linked to the forestry sector (-1.6%, as a result of the decrease in the effect of restocking on the increase in forest biomass), and to a lesser extent to the decrease in the grassland area.

Source: The Vanguard