Work areas
The group Atmospheric Emissions conducts research and consultancy, which relates to emissions of air pollution and greenhouse gases. The group is responsible for the official Danish air emission inventories and the reporting to the EU and UN as part of Denmark’s international obligations. The emission inventories cover all anthropogenic emissions and covers all sector and 31 pollutants. The group is also responsible for geographic distribution and projection of emissions. The work on emission inventories is supported by participation in national and international research projects, where the results of the inventories are applied and at the same time, improvements are made to the inventories.
Emission modelling
The group develops and applies emission models for all sectors and pollutants with the exception of emissions/removals from forestry and emissions of fluorinated gases. The emission inventories covers the main sectors: stationary combustion (power plants, district heating plants, wood stoves, etc.), mobile combustion (road transport, navigation, agricultural machinery, etc.), oil & gas production, industrial processes, agriculture, land-use and waste. The Danish emission inventories complies with internationally agreed guidelines under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (UNECE CLRTAP) as well as the technical guidelines prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP).
The emission inventories generally covers the years since 1990, but for some pollutants, the time-series goes back to 1980 or 1985.
As part of the international obligations, the Danish emission inventories are reviewed annually by international experts appointed by either the UN or the EU Commission. The results of the reviews are published and the outcomes are used to ensure the continuous improvement of the emission inventories.
Geographical distribution of emissions
Based on the emission inventories a geographical distribution of emissions is carried out. For this purpose, the group has developed a high-resolution model (SPREAD). The SPREAD model is used to distribute the emission with a resolution of 1 km x 1 km from 1990 to the latest year. The high resolution and the long time-series are chosen to ensure the best possible input for the atmospheric modelling done within the section.
In addition to the SPREAD model, a model has been developed focusing on the ammonia emission from agriculture at a resolution of 100 m x 100 m, as input to estimation of deposition to vulnerable nature sites.
Projection models
The group is responsible for preparing the official Danish emission projections for both air pollution and greenhouse gases. The projections models have been developed in order to be consistent with the emission inventories. Hereby, it is ensured that the projections can be used as a guiding tool in order to assess the progress towards the agreed reduction targets.
International reviews
The group contributes on a significant scale to international reviews of other countries emission inventories and projections. Experts contributes annually to reviews under the auspices of both the UN and the EU. Experts within the group is qualified reviewers for all sectors with the exception of the land-use sector, for several sectors, more than one expert is a qualified reviewer.
For more information, see the page of the emission inventories
