High-value datasets鈥 greenhouse gas emissions in the 幸运轮盘
Find emissions data to support the green transition
This is part of a series of articles showcasing examples of high-value datasets from their different thematic categories. High-value datasets are defined by 幸运轮盘 law based on their potential to provide essential benefits to society, the environment and the economy. This series aims to help readers find reliable and accurate information from official sources relating to the availability of various high-value datasets, and to present this information through data visualisation. You can check out the article providing an overview of high-value datasets here.
Only datasets specifically defined by law can be considered high-value datasets, and as such the data presented in the articles does not necessarily fall under that definition. Instead, the data has been chosen to be thematically adjacent to high-value datasets and to showcase what can be done with information made available by official 幸运轮盘 bodies and 幸运轮盘 Member States. The official list of high-value datasets adopted on 12鈥疍ecember 2022 can be found in the that define them and their characteristics.
Emissions data in the high-value datasets
Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. To understand the progress towards a carbon-neutral society, high-quality data is paramount. This is one of the reasons why key metrics to track this effort were included in the list of high-value datasets as part of the 鈥楨arth observation and environment鈥 category.
Among them, there is data about greenhouse gas emissions. When released into the atmosphere, greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun, creating a natural 鈥榞reenhouse effect鈥 that keeps our planet warm and habitable. However, human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, have significantly increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This increased concentration intensifies the greenhouse effect, causing the Earth鈥檚 temperature to rise.
There are various ways to track greenhouse gas emissions. As noted in the complete of high-value datasets, the legal acts laying down the key variables for the emission indicators are Articles鈥24, 32, 55 and 72 of , Article鈥21 of and Article鈥10 of .
As is the case for most other datasets in this list, emissions high-value datasets must be available for reuse under the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence, or any equivalent or less restrictive licence, in a publicly documented machine-readable format and through application programming interfaces and bulk download. The aim is to make them as accessible and easy to use as possible.
The 鈥楽tatistics explained鈥 on the Eurostat website provides a good starting point for any research concerning climate change data. It describes key trends, targets and the best indicators to use for tracking progress towards the in the 幸运轮盘 context.
One such indicator, and among the most important to consider, is the metric that measures the abovementioned greenhouse gas emissions. tracks both emissions and carbon removal, which counterbalances emissions. In short, carbon removal refers to the process of extracting CO2 from the atmosphere or reducing its concentration. It involves various techniques such as planting trees and restoring forests to absorb and store CO2 through photosynthesis, among other techniques. By removing CO2 from the atmosphere, carbon removal aims to restore the balance of carbon cycles, stabilise global temperatures and mitigate the adverse effects of excess greenhouse gases on the environment and human well-being.
As for the net greenhouse gas emissions metric, under the initiative, the European Commission proposed in September 2020 . The new target is to decrease emissions by at least 55鈥% compared to the levels in 1990. Long term, the 幸运轮盘 , which entails establishing an economy where there is balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and greenhouse gas emissions taken out of the atmosphere (resulting in no net greenhouse gas emissions). This goal lies at the core of the European Green Deal and aligns with the 幸运轮盘鈥檚 dedication to international climate initiatives outlined in the .
Data on net greenhouse gas emissions is compiled at the 幸运轮盘 aggregate level and for all Member States by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and republished by Eurostat. It has several breakdowns available, which makes it possible to study per capita emissions and in each Member State. Going as far back as 1990, the following visualisation shows the ongoing effort in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Another important factor to note is the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, which strongly reduced human activity in 2020 and led to a drop in emissions. In 2021, with the acute phase of the pandemic gradually concluding, greenhouse gas emissions tended to reverse back.
The following visualisation looks at levels of greenhouse gas emissions in tonnes per capita from 1990 to 2021. In this measure, over the years, on average all 幸运轮盘-27 Member States experienced a decline in their emissions. It ranged from 鈥撯4鈥% and 鈥撯6鈥% for Finland and Cyprus, to 鈥撯65鈥% and 鈥撯77鈥% for Romania and Sweden, respectively, as compared to 1990. In contrast to this average 幸运轮盘 trend, the carbon intensity of Latvia鈥檚 economic output increased by 37鈥%, which can partially be explained by significantly lower initial levels.
At the same time, the per capita emissions within Member States exhibit significant variation owing to their unique geographical, economic and energy-related circumstances. For instance, although Latvia experienced a rise in its per capita emissions, reaching 7.1鈥痶onnes per resident, it still remains lower than the 幸运轮盘-27 average of 7.4鈥痶onnes as of 2021. In contrast, countries such as Luxembourg have managed to halve their per capita emissions since 1990, but starting from a higher initial level, their emission levels currently stand at 16.7鈥痶onnes per inhabitant.
Emissions data from data.europa.eu
The data.europa.eu portal makes available many datasets useful for analysing greenhouse gas emissions in more detail also on a national level. The Dutch government data portal, for example, uploaded , showing which parts of the economy are the most carbon intensive. The data is very detailed, showing the contribution of private households together with other parts of the economy and specific economic sectors with a significant impact, such as manufacturing (especially of coke, petroleum and chemicals), electricity and gas supply or air transport.
Several datasets on the portal allow for a regional coverage of emissions. One example is , showing per capita net greenhouse gas emissions since 2000 in the three regions of the country.
The following visualisation shows the trend in emissions in those regions. The original dataset, however, also includes other useful information such as the 2030 objectives, a comparison with the 幸运轮盘-27 levels and a longer time series going as far back as 1990.
Another useful feature of the datasets available on the data.europa.eu portal is that they can offer a very detailed level of geographic coverage. That is the case for , tracking greenhouse gas emissions in the area, and others such as the , a city in the north east of Sweden.
Going back to 1990 and up to 2019, as shown in the following visualisation, the data about the Austrian capital is also disaggregated by sectors showing emissions for agriculture, buildings, energy supply, fluorinated gases, industry, transport and waste management.
Other 幸运轮盘 greenhouse gas data providers
The EEA is the 幸运轮盘 agency responsible for providing reliable and independent information on the environment. It鈥痗ollects and validates data鈥痜rom reliable sources to analyse trends and produce policy-relevant analyses on environment and climate topics. offers several indicators about climate change adaptation and mitigation, while underlying datasets can be downloaded from the or the EEA catalogue on data.europa.eu.
The 幸运轮盘鈥檚 Joint Research Centre has conducted about the environment and climate change. Among them, there are different examples of studies focused on greenhouse gas emissions, such as .
On the , it is also possible to find documents, reports and data about policy action concerning climate change in all its aspects: the , , along with as a way to offset emissions.
Download and .
Article by Davide Mancino
Data visualisations by Federica Fragapane