Netherlands national report on Black Carbon and Methane emissions

The Netherlands Ministry for Infrastructure and the Environment in cooperation with the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment and the National Enterprise Agency submitted this national report on black carbon and methane emissions. 

The report, that was submitted to the Arctic Council, details the current black carbon and methane emissions, including future projections and it gives insight in mitigation actions. The report delivers on the reporting requirements on black carbon and methane, as part of the CCAC Marrakech Communiqué.

Road transport is the main source of black carbon emissions in the Netherlands (46.2 % of total black carbon emissions in 2015). Nevertheless, BC emissions from road transport have decreased by 83% between 1990 and 2015. This decrease can mainly be attributed to the introduction of increasingly stringent European emission standards for new road vehicles. Emissions from shipping and inland waterways have decreased by 32% between 1990 and 2015. This can be attributed to sulphur free diesel fuels which were introduced in 2009 in inland shipping in The Netherlands.

The agricultural sector is the main source of methane emissions in the Netherlands (69 % of total methane emissions in 2015). Overall, methane emissions have decreased by over 41% in the past decennia but leveled off recently. Further mitigation measures will be undertaken. Waste disposal amounts to the second largest source of methane emissions (16 % of total methane emissions in 2015). Emissions from waste have fallen substantially in the past, from 572 kT in 1990 to 136 kT in 2015, and are expected to continue to fall to 48 kT in 2030. This decrease is due to reducing emissions from waste put into landfill in the past, the fact that less waste is being dumped in landfill and the fact that the biogenic fraction is getting smaller and smaller.

The Netherland will continue its efforts to reduce the emission of short-lived climate pollutants and share its knowledge in various fora, i.e. the Arctic Council and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.