Press release: Three crop rule relaxed and £6 million fund for farmers
New measures to help farmers get back on their feet and move on from floods following extreme weather and flooding across England
New measures to help farmers get back on their feet and move on from floods following extreme weather and flooding across England
20 March 2020
Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) data for 2018 published by SEPA. SPRI is a database of annual mass releases of specified pollutants to air, water and land from SEPA regulated industrial sites.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) today (20 March 2020) published its Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) data for 2018. SPRI is a database of annual mass releases of specified pollutants to air, water and land from SEPA regulated industrial sites.
The data released shows Scotland’s long-term pollutant emissions from SEPA regulated businesses fell between 2008 and 2018 as the country continues its transition to a more sustainable future. Pollutant releases have decreased across most major pollutant groups over the past ten years.
Some of the decreases, such those of greenhouse gases, are partly due to the ongoing greening of the grid. Others are directly related to environmental policy and new technologies such as investment in renewables, river basin management plans and landfill gas recovery systems.
Overall reductions in greenhouse gases
The two largest contributing pollutants in terms of number of sites reporting and emissions are carbon dioxide and methane which drive the overall greenhouse gas trend. The closure of Cockenzie and Longannet coal-fired power stations are largely responsible for the reduction of carbon dioxide by over 13.8 Megatonnes (54%) since 2008.
Levels of other greenhouse gases (Methane, nitrous oxide and sulphur hexafluoride) have also fell over those ten years. The most significant of these reductions is the fall in methane emissions. While methane does not remain in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, it is initially far more impactful on the climate because of how effectively it absorbs heat. The reduction of over 50% since 2008 is a consequence of the capture of gas at landfill sites and the reduction of organic waste going to these sites.
Pollutant |
Emissions (kg) |
Change between years |
|||
2008 |
2017 |
2018 |
2017 to 2018 |
2008 to 2018 |
|
Carbon dioxide |
25,700,000,000 |
11,500,000,000 |
11,900,000,000 |
up 3% |
down 54% |
Methane |
56,800,000 |
32,500,000 |
27,800,000 |
down 14% |
down 51% |
Nitrous oxide |
317,000 |
89,600 |
88,900 |
down 1% |
down 72% |
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) |
12,000 |
4,360 |
4,410 |
up 1% |
down 63% |
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) |
1,770 |
1,050 |
3,520 |
up 235% |
up 99% |
Sulphur hexafluoride |
1,030 |
134 |
107 |
down 20% |
down 90% |
Total (to 3 significant figures) |
25,800,000,000 |
11,500,000,000 |
11,900,000,000 |
up 3% |
down 54% |
Energy transition
Reflecting the realism of a transition economy and demand from the grid from the 2018 ‘Beast from the East’ severe weather event, SEPA regulated sites recorded a 3% increase in greenhouse emissions. While renewable generation in Scotland has increased by almost 70% since 2008**, the 2018 increase in greenhouse gas emissions is largely due to a 0.96 Megatonne rise in carbon dioxide emitted from Peterhead Power Station, operated by Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE).
SSE Peterhead, a gas-fired thermal facility is designed to respond quickly to market changes, maintaining security of supply. Now the only large scale thermal power station in Scotland, the site ran for roughly twice as many hours in 2018 in respond to demand, impacting its emissions from the previous year.
CCGT stations, like Peterhead, are generally considered as least polluting large scale thermal generation technology and are necessary in the shift to renewable energy generation.
Increases in emissions
The intensive livestock sector showed an increase in methane emissions during 2018 which is relatively large in terms of the sector (15%) but is equivalent to a 0.0006% increase in the total quantity of SPRI greenhouse gases released. The increase is due to the permitting of four new facilities and capacity increases at several existing sites.
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs – also known as F-gases) are commonly used in refrigeration. 2018 saw a 235% increase which is equivalent to a 0.00002% increase in the total quantity of greenhouse gases released. This was due to accidental releases from two regulated sites, with SEPA action leading to investment in alternative refrigeration technologies being introduced by October 2020.
Year-to-year changes in pollutants can often be attributed to changes at a few sites, due to increases or decreases in production, changing source products and new sites opening. All pollutants have a reporting threshold, below which sites do not need to report a value to SPRI. An increase in production can move a site’s releases above the threshold, giving the appearance of a large increase.
Other increases are mostly related to an increase in production or variations in combustion fuels. There were also 16 more sites reporting in 2018.
Terry A’Hearn, Chief Executive of SEPA, said:
“The most successful countries in the 21st century will be those that thrive within our planet’s means to support them. Through our regulatory strategy, One Plant Prosperity, SEPA is helping Scottish business grow sustainably while reducing their environmental burden.
“The annual SPRI data from regulated sites is a very visual demonstration of the progress we’ve made as a nation in the last decade as a result of our climate leadership. It also reflects the realism of a transition economy where there will be movement in individual metrics such as energy.
“Scotland’s globally ambitious climate change and circular economy strategies continue to drive systemic change in business practice and are vital to the link between economic, environmental and social wellbeing.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The SPRI data can be accessed on SEPA’s website at www.sepa.org.uk/spri
Find out when you must charge a minimum of 5p for single use plastic carrier bags, bags you’re not required to charge for and the records you must keep and submit.
Competition laws relaxed to allow supermarkets to work together on coronavirus response.
Information about the 5p charge for single-use plastic carrier bags in England from 5 October 2015.