Enegy Sector Emissions in United Kingdom

Analysis report of Enegy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom. An Emission calculation report for UK based on IPCC model. This report was prepared as part of Energy Efficiency Course my Masters degree in the REMENA program (dual degree from Kassel University & Cairo university)

1. Energy Sector Emissions in the United
Kingdom
BY
Safwa Abd El-Rehim Abu El-Azayem

A Report Submitted to REMENA MSc. Program
In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for The Environmental Issues Course at
REMENA MSc. Program

Under the Supervision of
Dr. Hindawi Salem
Professor of Mechanical Power Engineering Department
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, CAIRO UNIVERSITY
GIZA, EGYPT

Febreuary-2023

2. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom ii



TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Figures ............................................................................................................................. iii
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 4
1.1. Background about the Report ............................................................................................ 4
1.2. GHGs Effect and GHGs sources ....................................................................................... 4
1.3. Report Organization .......................................................................................................... 5
2. Country profile and Energy Demand & Supply ................................................................... 6
2.1. Country Profile .................................................................................................................. 6
2.2. Energy Demand ................................................................................................................. 6
2.2.1. Sources of Energy (Consumption by source) ........................................................... 6
2.2.2. End Users (Consumption by Sector)......................................................................... 8
3. Emissions calculation based on IPCC Model ....................................................................... 9
3.1. Step 1&2: get energy consumption data & convert to common energy unit .................... 9
3.2. step 3: multiply by emission factors .................................................................................. 9
3.3. Step 4: Subtract Non-Energy Uses .................................................................................. 12
3.4. Step 5: Multiply by an Oxidation Factor ......................................................................... 13
3.5. step 6: multiply by C to CO2 conversion ........................................................................ 14
4. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 16
5. References ........................................................................................................................... 17

3. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom iii



TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 2-1: Total final consumption (TFC) by source, United Kingdom 1990-2020 (United
Kingdom - Countries & Regions - IEA) ......................................................................................... 7
Figure 2-2: Total final consumption (TFC) by source, United Kingdom 1990-2020 (Area) (United
Kingdom - Countries & Regions - IEA) ......................................................................................... 7
Figure 2-3: Total final consumption by sector (United Kingdom - Countries & Regions - IEA) .. 8
Figure 3-1: ton CO2 emissions (initial calculations) through time............................................... 11
Figure 3-2: ton CH4 emissions (initial calculations) through time............................................... 11
Figure 3-3: ton N2O emissions (initial calculations) through time .............................................. 12
Figure 3-4: Final CO2 emissions from each source ...................................................................... 15

4. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom 4



1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background about the Report
This report aims at giving an overview about the energy sector and its emissions in the United
Kingdom. United Kingdom is one of the top ten powerful countries around the world. This is due
to its economic strength, military capabilities, and cultural influence. It has the sixth largest
economy in the world and is a major exporter of goods and services. It is also a member of the
European Union and plays a significant role in international relations
i
.
Therefore, reviewing its Energy and emissions situation, policy and regulations would give great
idea of the development of emissions calculations and mitigation & adaptation policies in any
country specially developing countries.
1.2. GHGs Effect and GHGs sources
Greenhouse gases effect is trapping and built-up of heat in the atmosphere.
When the Sun rays passes to the Earth, some of the solar radiation is absorbed and re-emitted in
all directions by greenhouse gas molecules (CO2 is the most famous gas).
If the atmospheric concentration of those greenhouse gases increase the lower atmosphere’s
average temperature increases (warm the Earth's surface and the lower atmosphere), causing flash
floods, melting snow; hence, rising sea levels.

Green house Gas is any gas that absorbs infrared raddiation in the atmosphere. GHGs include CO2,
CH4, N2O, CFCs, HFCs, PFCs and SF6.
GHGs are naturally existing in the atmosphere. The heat emitted by the Earth would simply pass
outwards from the Earth's surface into space and the Earth would have an average temperature of
about -20°C.
The most significant greenhouse gases, according to the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), are: water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).
The primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the are:
• Transportation: primarily come from burning fossil fuel for our cars, trucks, ships, trains,
and planes. Over 90% of the fuel used for transportation is petroleum based, which includes
primarily gasoline and diesel.2

5. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom 5



• Electricity production: electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural
gas.3
• Industry: primarily come from burning fossil fuels for energy, as well as greenhouse gas
emissions from certain chemical reactions necessary to produce goods from raw materials.
• Commercial and Residential: primarily from fossil fuels burned for heat, the use of certain
products that contain greenhouse gases, and the handling of waste.
• Agriculture: from livestock such as cows, agricultural soils, and rice production.
• Land Use and Forestry
1.3. Report Organization
This report is organized as follows; chapter introduce the UK country profile and its energy
situation. Then chapter three present the GHGs emissions, calculations based on IPCC
methodology and tables. Then an analysis of the policies related to the emissions are discussed. At
the end of the report GHGs mitigations measures are discussed as a conclusion.

6. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom 6



2. COUNTRY PROFILE AND ENERGY DEMAND & SUPPLY
2.1. Country Profile
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or UK is made up of England, Wales and
Scotland, as well as Northern Ireland. Its area is 242,514 sq km. the UK has many boarders; one
land border with Ireland, Maritime boarders with France, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany,
the Netherlands, Norway, and the Faroe Islands (Denmark). Its population is 62.8 million with an
average life expectancy of 78 years (men) & 82 years (women)
The UK currency is pound sterling. The main Sources of income or the sectors that contribute most
to the U.K.'s GDP are services, manufacturing, construction, and tourism.
2.2. Energy Demand
2.2.1. Sources of Energy (Consumption by source)
Figure 2-1 shows the Total Final Consumption (TFC) of each energy source from International
Energy Agency (IEA) statistics
ii
. As indicated in the figure, the highest Energy source is Oil
products, then the natural gas. This is because the United Kingdom is reach with natural reservoirs
of Oil and Gas. The UK's has gas fields in the North Sea and Irish Sea, but their output is falling,
partly because too few new fields have been developed
iii
. Therefore, the UK have to decrease their
dependency on the conventional oil and gas resources and increase their share of their sources such
as renewables and bioenergy. This is actually happening as its showed in Figure 3-1 & Figure 2-2
the oil products energy consumption started to drop from 2017 also and natural gas is decreasing
through the long time. On the other hand, biofuels and renewable consumption is increasing. Also,
it’s indicated from the figures that the coal production is decreasing through time. While electricity
consumption remains somehow constant from 1990 and 2020 with middle fluctuation.
Figure 2-2 shows also that the overall energy consumption is around 4,775,000 TJ at 2020 and it
is decreasing through time. While the economy of the country is improving through time as
indicated in Section 2, so their production is expected to be increasing hence their energy
consumption. This means that the country is heading to more conservation of energy in different
end users. The following section show the different energy end users and their energy demand.

7. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom 7





Figure 2-1: Total final consumption (TFC) by source, United Kingdom 1990-2020
(United Kingdom - Countries & Regions - IEA)


Figure 2-2: Total final consumption (TFC) by source, United Kingdom 1990-2020 (Area)
(United Kingdom - Countries & Regions - IEA)

8. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom 8



2.2.2. End Users (Consumption by Sector)
Figure 2-3 shows the energy consumption of the different sectors in the UK. As indicated in the
figure the main energy consumers sectors are as follows (ranked by their energy consumption):
A. Residential: space heating is the major energy use
B. Transport: sharply decreased recently. This is because of the decrease in diesel sales over
the year
iv
and the increasing use of the electric transport sytems and electric vehicles
v
. This
is reflected in the energy sources consumption as in Figure 2-1 & Figure 2-2.
C. Industry: the iron and steel industry is the most energy intensive industrial field
D. Commercial and public services: space heating is the major energy us
E. Other sectors (non-energy use, Fishing, agriculture)
It can be concluded from this analysis that the space heating is a major energy demand in the UK
specially in resedintial and services sectors. This is expected because of their nature and col
weather.

Figure 2-3: Total final consumption by sector (United Kingdom - Countries & Regions - IEA)

9. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom 9



3. EMISSIONS CALCULATION BASED ON I PCC MODEL
The GHGs emissions are estimated based on the IPCC methodology and Tables. The following
sections shows the calculations steps.
3.1. Step 1&2: get energy consumption data & convert to common energy unit
Data from IEA is considered. The primary sources of fossil fuels are only considered; coal,
natural gas and oil products. Combined heat and power from each source is added to the
source’’s consumption to account for the electricity and heat produced as secondary sources of
energy. Table 1 shoes the primary fossil fuels consumption from 1995 to 2019. Bio-energy fuel
consumption is neglected as it's values are relatively low.
Table 1: fuels consumption from 1995 to 2019

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2019
Coal
consumption
(TJ/Year)
2482 1759 1385 1479 1149 853 176
Oil products
consumption
(TJ/Year)
2859 2788 2702 2697 2367 2288 2270
Natural gas
consumption
(TJ/Year)
1796 2436 3328 3260 3270 2377 2626


3.2. step 3: multiply by emission factors

emissions factors are estimated from UK’s data
vi
. Table 2 shows the emssions factors considered
while calculated the GHGs. Table 3 present the GHGs in the UK in 2019, analysis is made for
many yease but presented in Figure – for simplicity.

10. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom 10



Table 2: UK emissions factors

CO2 CH4 N2O

emission factor
(kg/TJ)
emission factor
(kg/TJ)
emission
factor
(kg/TJ)
Coal 96,844 1362 619.4
Oil products 77,000 62.5 613.9
Natural gas 60,000 77.78 30.6


Table 3: Fuel consumption and calculated GHGs in 2019_UK
Fuel Consumption
(TJ)
emission (kg) emission (kg) emission
(kg)
Coal

175,665

17,012,111,221

239,255,870
##########
Oil products

2,270,070

174,795,401,762

141,879,385
##########
Natural gas

2,626,162

157,569,731,898

204,262,896
80,255,517
total

5,071,897

349,377,244,881

585,398,150
##########

11. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom 11





Figure 3-1: ton CO2 emissions (initial calculations) through time


Figure 3-2: ton CH4 emissions (initial calculations) through time

0
100,000,000
200,000,000
300,000,000
400,000,000
500,000,000
600,000,000
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
Coal Oil products Natural gas total CO2 emissions (ton/year)
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
4,000,000
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
Coal Oil products Natural gas total CH4 emissions (ton/year)

12. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom 12




Figure 3-3: ton N2O emissions (initial calculations) through time

3.3. Step 4: Subtract Non-Energy Uses
For CO2 emissions, the emissions values are multiplied by a factor to subtract the Non-energy
uses. Table 4 shows those factors. Table 5 shows the estimated corrected Carbon emissions.
Table 4: assumed useful carbon content

assumed useful carbon
content
Coal 95.0%
Oil products 83.0%
Natural gas 80.0%


Table 5: ton emissions carbon content per year

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2019
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
4,000,000
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
Coal Oil products Natural gas total N2O emissions (ton/year)

13. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom 13



Coal
228,364,813

161,872,698

127,398,087

136,050,987

105,711,150

78,517,271

16,161,506
Oil
products

182,688,844

178,170,733

172,691,435

172,378,685

151,275,545

146,238,192

145,080,183
Natural
gas

86,214,801

116,916,091

159,723,706

156,479,558

156,977,870

114,080,294

126,055,786
total CO2
emissions
(ton/year)
497,268,459 456,959,523 459,813,227 464,909,230 413,964,566 338,835,757 287,297,475

3.4. Step 5: Multiply by an Oxidation Factor
Table 6 shows the assumed oxidation factor for the fuels. Table 7 shows the emissions carbon
oxidized per year
Table 6: assumed oxidation factor
assumed oxidation factor

98.0% Coal
99.5% Oil
products
99.0% Natural gas

14. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom 14




Table 7: emissions carbon oxidized per year (ton)

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2019
Coal
223,797,517

158,635,244

124,850,125

133,329,967

103,596,927
76,946,926 15,838,276
Oil
products

181,775,400

177,279,879

171,827,978

171,516,791

150,519,168

145,507,001

144,354,783
Natural
gas
85,352,653
115,746,930

158,126,469

154,914,763

155,408,092

112,939,491

124,795,228
total CO2
emissions
(ton/year)
490,925,571 451,662,054 454,804,571 459,761,521 409,524,187 335,393,418 284,988,286


3.5. step 6: multiply by C to CO2 conversion
as a final step to convert carbon oxidized to CO2 emission you multiply by 44/12. Table 8 shows
the final CO2 emissions and the figure shows graphical representation of it.

15. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom 15




Figure 3-4: Final CO2 emissions from each source

Table 8: Final CO2 emissions

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2019
Coal 820,590,896 581,662,563 457,783,792 488,876,546 379,855,401 282,138,728 58,073,677
Oil
products
666,509,800 650,026,225 630,035,918 628,894,902 551,903,614 533,525,671 529,300,869
Natural
gas
312,959,729 424,405,411 579,797,051 568,020,796 569,829,669 414,111,467 457,582,501
total
CO2
emissions
(ton/year)

1,800,060,425

1,656,094,199

1,667,616,762

1,685,792,244

1,501,588,684

1,229,775,866

1,044,957,048
-
500,000,000
1,000,000,000
1,500,000,000
2,000,000,000
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2019
CO_2 emissions through time(ton)_UK
Coal Oil products Natural gas

16. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom 16



4. CONCLUSION
From the graphs above, it’s shown that UK has decreased its CO2 emissions greatly through time.
This appear in CO2 emissions (Figure 3-4), CH4 emissions (Figure 3-2), & N2O emissions (Figure
3-3). It’s also obvious from the figures that the main source of energy is the oil products.

17. Energy Sector Emissions in the United Kingdom 17



5. REFERENCES

i
https://www.safalta.com/blog/top-10-most-powerful-countries-in-the-world
ii
United Kingdom - Countries & Regions - IEA
iii
https://oeuk.org.uk/uk-gas-production-will-fall-75-by-2030-without-new-investment-warns-industry-body/
iv
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/877047/Press_Notice_M
arch_2020.pdf
v
https://heycar.co.uk/blog/electric-cars-statistics-and-projections
vi
UK.GOV