2.1 OVERVIEW

2.1.1 INTRODUCTION

The structure of the present greenhouse gas inventory report follows the order established in the "Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines-Greenhouse Gas Inventory Workbook, Volume 2", which has identified six major economic sectors, as follows:

- Energy
- Industrial processes
- Solvent and other product use
- Agriculture
- Land use change and forestry
- Waste

These guidelines have considered the following greenhouse gases:

CO2: carbon dioxide
CO: carbon monoxide
NOx: nitrogen oxides
N2O: nitrous oxide
SO2: sulfur dioxide
CH4: methane
NMVOCs non methane volatile organic compounds
HFCs: hydrofluorocarbons
PFCs: perfluorocarbons
SF6: sulfur hexafluoride

It should be noted that the protocol developed for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in the Conference of Parties 3, held in Kyoto on December 10, 1997 has determined six greenhouse gases to be controlled, which are: CH4, CO2, N2O, HFC, PFC, SF6.

In this inventory, each section starts with an introduction presenting the state of each sector in Lebanon, followed by the methodology adopted in order to compute emissions of greenhouse gases by sources and removals by sinks, in accordance with IPCC guidelines. In addition, it is accompanied by experts’ assumptions in estimating greenhouse gases and finallly by the IPCC Sectoral tables which present the results obtained in each sector.
 
This overview described in the IPCC summary tables 2.7A and 2.7B and table 2.8A, which shows the quality of estimates calculated, presents the main results obtained in each sector. In the last paragraph, the global warming potential of the greenhouse gases emitted in Lebanon in 1994 is provided for three calculated time horizons, based on the "1995 IPCC Technical Summary of Working Group I" report.
 
In order to provide a summary picture of all important results obtained by the National Inventory team, this executive summary hereby presents in table 2.1:
 
- The emitted amount of each greenhouse gas by sector.
- The total emitted amount of all greenhouse gases in a sector.
- The total amount of each greenhouse gas in all sectors.
- The total quantity of greenhouse gases emitted in Lebanon, in gigagrams.
 
Following the summary table, charts 2.1-2.7 have been developed to show:

- The contribution of various sectors to total CO2 emissions in Lebanon in 1994 (Fig.2.1).
- The contribution of various sectors to total CH4 emissions in Lebanon in 1994 (Fig.2.2).
- The contribution of various sectors to total N2O emissions in Lebanon in 1994 (Fig.2.3).
- The contribution of various sectors to total NOX emissions in Lebanon in 1994 (Fig.2.4).
- The contribution of various sectors to total CO emissions in Lebanon in 1994 (Fig.2.5).
- The contribution of various sectors to total NMVOC emissions in Lebanon in 1994 (Fig.2.6).
- The contribution of various sectors to total SO2 emissions in Lebanon in 1994 (Fig.2.7).
 

 
ENERGY SECTOR

The following GHG are of interest in the energy sector: carbon dioxide CO2, methane CH4, nitrous oxide N2O, oxides of nitrogen Nox, carbon monoxide CO, sulfur dioxide SO2 and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs). The inventory has focused on the following GHG related sources:

- Electricity generation through the electric utility.
- Private generation of electricity.
- Manufacturing industries and construction.
- Transport: road, domestic aviation, national navigation.
- Energy use in the residential sector.
- Energy use in the commercial/institutional sector.
- Energy use in the agriculture/forestry/fishing sector.

The fuel types taken into consideration are: gasoline, jet kerosene, kerosene for household use, gas oil, diesel oil, fuel oil, LPG, lubricating oil, coal, wood and charcoal (under solid biomass). Care has been taken to eliminate the fuel used by international marine and aviation bunkers from the national inventory.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that both the reference approach and analysis by source categories have been carried out and are reported in this inventory.

The total amount of liquid secondary fuels that was imported to Lebanon in 1994 was 4,107,883 tons. The use of solid fuel and biomass fuel is minor and confined to the use of 160,000 tons of wood, 1,560 tons of charcoal and 180,000 tons of coking coal. Data on international bunkers in Lebanon were restricted to international aviation because the amount of fuel in international marine movement has never been documented and is believed to be minor. Domestic aviation is almost nonexistent in Lebanon and therefore all imported jet kerosene is used in international aviation except for 1,910 tons used by a few training planes.

Tables 2.2 to 2.5 provide information on fuels used and GHG emissions by fuel source, fuel type, sector and non-CO2 emissions.

Table 2.2. Summary of CO2 emissions by fuel source
 

Table 2.3. Summary of CO2 Emissions by Fuel Type
 

Table 2.4. Summary of CO2 Emissions by Energy Use of Sector
 

Table 2.5. Summary of Non-CO2 Emissions (Gg) by Energy Use of Sectors.
 

INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES SECTOR

In 1994, the Lebanese industry has emitted 1924.063 Gg (1,924,063 tons) of carbon dioxide, 0.0003 Gg (0.3 tons) of carbon monoxide, 0.01112 Gg of nitrogen oxide, 273.888 Gg (273,888 tons) of non-methane volatile organic compounds and 3.382 Gg (3,382 tons) of sulphur dioxide.

The cement industry is the major source of CO2 emissions among the industrial processes in Lebanon. The cement industry is responsible for 77.2% of the total emissions followed by the iron and steel industry which produces 21.7% of the total CO2 emissions from industrial processes. Fig. 2.8. shows the percentage distribution of various industrial sources contributions to CO2 emissions in Lebanon.

The NMVOC emissions are mainly produced by the use of asphalt for road paving (98.8% of total emissions by industry) followed by the food and beverage industry (1%). Fig. 2.9 shows the percentage distribution of various industrial sources contributions to NMVOC emissions in Lebanon.

The emissions of sulphur dioxide SO2 come from three industrial sources. The first source is from the production of sulphuric acid (67% of total industrial emissions). The second from the cement industry (25% of total industrial emissions) and the third is from the iron and steel mills (8% of total industrial emissions). Fig. 2.10 shows the percentage distribution of various industrial sources contributions to SO2 emissions in Lebanon.

Carbon monoxide emissions in the industrial sector are very small. The major source is iron and steel mills and the minor source is asphalt-roofing production.

Uncertainties and limitations are associated with the estimated greenhouse gas emissions. The emissions reported for industrial processes in Lebanon reflect current best estimates. Thus the reported emissions inventory provides a foundation for the development of a more detailed and comprehensive Lebanese inventory in the future.

Specific limitations include:
- quantitative estimates for some sources of greenhouse gas emissions were not always based on data obtained from specific sources, but from bulk imports of certain products;
- and the accuracy of the inventory estimates relies heavily on emission factors available from the IPCC Guidelines . These factors are used in the Lebanese inventory and may differ for some local industrial processes because of differences in the raw material used.

2.1.4 SOLVENT AND OTHER PRODUCT USE


This category covers mainly NMVOC emissions resulting from the use of solvents and other products containing volatile compounds. It also includes CO2 and N2O emissions from anaesthetic and propellant gases. The only relevant part to Lebanon in this sector is paint applications, degreasing and dry cleaning. However no estimation of GHG was made in this sector due to non availability of data and emission factors.

2.1.5 AGRICULTURE SECTOR

In Lebanon, emissions of greenhouse gases from agricultural activities occur through the following processes:

I- Enteric fermentation and manure management of the domestic livestock emits methane and nitrous oxide.
II- Agricultural burning of crop residues is of minor importance since field burning of crop residue is not a common practice in Lebanon.
III- Agricultural soils are a source of nitrous oxide directly from the soils and from animal production, and indirectly from the nitrogen added to the soils.

The following results were obtained for the inventory year 1994:

7.60955 Gg of methane, 3.01478 Gg of nitrous oxide, 0.00146 Gg of nitrogen oxides, and 0.04306 Gg of carbon monoxide.

2.1.6 LAND USE CHANGE AND FORESTRY SECTOR

The land use change and forestry considers the following sub-modules in calculating GHG emission by sources or removal by sinks:

I- Sub-module changes in forestry and other woody biomass stocks.

This sub-module has presented considerable difficulties in the data collection activity since no information or records are available at the institutional level. Therefore, the data derived represents a large degree of uncertainty.

The stocks of woody biomass, needed to calculate the carbon uptake or storage in Lebanon for 1994, were found to be made of:
a- 75,000 ha of forest trees (65,000 evergreen and 10,000 deciduous)

b- 50,280,000 non-forest trees which include:
49,794,000 farm and village trees (21,980,000 of evergreen fruit and olive trees and 27,814,000 of deciduous fruit trees) 486,000 urban trees ( 450,000 evergreen urban trees and 36,000 deciduous urban trees).

The total carbon uptake increment by these stocks of woody biomass is 169.800475kt.The loss of biomass from fuelwood consumption and from timber production is 41770298kt. As a result the change in woody biomass stocks is considered a source of CO2 emitting 142.4446kt of CO2.

II- Sub-module forest and grassland conversion-CO2 from biomass:

Natural and man made fires are included in this sub- module. In 1994, around 1300 ha of woodland were affected by fires, and the resulting CO2 released was 57.968625Gg.

Forests in 1994 constitute a minor source of CO2 rather than a sink due to the loss of woody biomass stocks and to forest fires .

CO2 emission from land use change and forestry is 200.413225kt.

2.1.7 WASTE SECTOR

The waste management section of this report deals with two sectors: land disposal of solid waste and wastewater treatment. It provides background information on the type of emissions that contribute to the greenhouse gases from these two sectors, presents both sectors' current status in Lebanon, describes the methodology followed to estimate the corresponding emissions, and presents the results obtained regarding greenhouse emissions.

The total methane emissions from solid waste disposal on land are 42.804Gg approximately. There are no emissions from wastewater and industrial handling systems because, for the target year 1994, there was no treatment facilities in Lebanon. The wastewater (municipal, commercial, and industrial) was directly discharged into the sea, rivers, ravines, or septic tanks which indicate that methane or nitrous oxide emissions are insignificant if not nonexistent. Note that this situation will change in the future as treatment plants are being constructed around the country and are expected to come into operation by the year 2000.


2.1.8 RELATIVE IMPACT OF GREENHOUSE GASES EFFECT: GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL (GWP)


The impact of a given quantity of gas in terms of weather warming is measured by its global warming potential (GWP). The GWP is defined as the cumulative radiating forcing between the present and some chosen future time horizon caused by a unit mass of gas emitted now, expressed relative to some reference gas (here CO2 is used). The future global warming commitment of a greenhouse gas over the reference time horizon is the appropriate GWP multiplied by the amount of gas emitted. The GWP of a given gas depends mostly on the thermal efficiency of the gas, on various complex physical and chemical parameters and on its life span in the atmosphere as a direct or indirect greenhouse gas. As a rule, three possibilities of integration timespan are used: 20 years, 100 years and 500 years.

The 20 years possibility appears to be too brief for an assessment of high inertia phenomena such as those found in climatology. In addition, the life span of many greenhouse gases is much longer. A 500 years integration time span is very attractive, but gives highly uncertain projections on changes in the physical and chemical phenomena. The intermediate option, 100 years, leads to reasonable analysis and is the most commonly used option.

Table 2.6 presents the GWP time horizon referenced to the updated decay response for the carbon Cycle Model and future CO2 atmospheric concentrations held constant at current level.

Table 2.6 Global Warming Potential Time Horizon of Greenhouse Gases
 

*Source: Climate Change 1995, the Science
of Climate Change: Summary for Policy Makers
and Technical Summary of Working Group
I Report, pg. 26.

With the GWP, the global emissions of the country by sectors can be expressed in the same unit of CO2 equivalent for the sake of aggregation or comparison. Accounting for the GWP of each greenhouse gas emitted, the CO2 equivalent for each gas is calculated and the data are summarized in Table 2.7. Fig. 2.11 shows also the GWP of greenhouse gases emitted in Lebanon in 1994 for the three calculated time horizons.

The total GWP based on a 100 years life span for greenhouse gas emissions in Lebanon is 17665.997 GgECO2 (17.666 MTECO2). If this amount is divided by the Lebanese population for the year of 1994, then the GWP is 4.64 tons Equivalent of CO2/capita/year.

Table 2.7 Global Warming Potential of Greenhouse Gases Emitted in Lebanon (1994)