Important information about the use of emissiondata

This page explains the various limitations in the quality of our emission data.

• Embargosheet: why some data are not shown
• Methodologies used to determine emission
• Uncertainties in the emissions presented

Embargosheet

In some cases the emissions of a certain compound are incomplete, or we don't have a clear picture of the allocation in the Netherlands. This embargo sheet shows these exceptions. The symbol indicates no limitations, The symbol implies that no information is shown at all from this compounds at this level, while indicates some restrictions, further explained - as a tooltip - when you point the symbol.

Stof	NL total	NL per (sub)sector	NL per emission source	Allocated total	Allocated per (sub)sector	Allocated per emission source	Facilities
Greenhouse gasses to air				1	1	1
Greenhouse gasses to air (IPCC)							n.a.
NEC air pollutants				1+2	1+2	1+2+3
EMEP/UNECE air pollutants	2	2	2	1+2	1+2	1+2+3
Priority substances to air	2	2	2	1+2	1+2	1+2+3
All pollutants to water							4
N- en P-total to soil				5	5	5	n.a.
Cu,Cd,Zn en Pb to soil				5	5	5	n.a.

¹⁾ Due to limitations in the allocation of agricultural sources no NH₃ is shown  for 1990 en 1995; CH₄, N₂O  are not shown at all; Particle matter (PM10 and PM2.5) is only  available for 2006 and 2007.
²⁾ For exceptions see the report about priority substances Emissies van prioritaire stoffen naar lucht in Nederland 1990-2005 (Peek 2008) Attachment I, table B1.
³⁾ NH₃ from agriculture is shown in one emissionsource 'Total manure and fertilizer'. Particle matter is only geographicly displayed for emission source PM10 from agricultural sources .
⁴⁾ Only 2004 and later is shown.
⁵⁾ Agricultural sector only shown per province.

Methodologies, protocols and factsheets used

How the emissions are determined is briefly discussed in the methods, with a detailed explanation given in the so-called methodology reports. You can locate all the documents via the documentation menu, with a detailed explanation given in the so-called methodology reports. You can locate all the documents via the Search which will lead you directly to the relevant methodology, factsheet or protocol.

Uncertainties in emissions

The uncertainties in emissions are significant and will even increase after allocating them spatially (see also the remarks in the description of the emission calculations. ) Three studies were carried out to quantify the uncertainties: two on greenhouse gas emissions and one focusing on acidifying compounds (NO_x, SO₂ and NH₃ and large- scale air pollution. Reports on the studies are available here.

Pollutant or environmental theme	Uncertainty in the national total	Methodology
CO2	±3%	Tier 1
CH4	±25%	Tier 1
N2O	±50%	Tier 1
Fluor gases (F-gases)	±50%	Tier 1
CO2-equivalenten (theme greenhousegases)	±5%	Tier 1
NH3	±17%	Tier 2
NOx	±15%	Tier 2
SO2	±6%	Tier 2
Equivalents acid (theme accidification)	±10%	Tier 2