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Greenhouse Gases

Volume 406: debated on Tuesday 3 June 2003

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To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many tonnes of (a) greenhouse gas emissions and (b) carbon were created by (i) energy projects, (ii) manufacturing projects and (iii) other projects supported by the Export Credits Guarantee Department in each of the last five years. [115049]

The information is as follows:(i) Carbon dioxide is the only greenhouse gas for which ECGD has any information. For energy generation projects supported in each of the last five financial years, it is estimated that upon completion total annual CO

2 and carbon emissions will be as shown in the table.

Million

Tonnes per year

1998–99

1999–2000

2000–01

2001–02

2002–03

CO211.120.419.21.21.2
Carbon3.05. 65.20.30.3

It has been assumed the plants operate for 60 per cent. of the time (5,256 hours per year). CO2 emissions are calculated using time following conversion factors—Coal: 0.687 tonnes of CO2 per MW per hour, Oil 0.417, Gas: 0.309. These are taken from The Greenhouse Gas Protocol website, www.ghgprotocol.org, and are the 1999 average values for power plants in Economies In Transition. These are the markets where ECGD most commonly provide guarantees.

Carbon emissions are calculated by assuming that carbon makes up 27.3 per cent. of the atomic mass of CO2 .

(ii) and (iii) ECGD does not have information on the greenhouse gas or carbon emissions for manufacturing or other projects supported in the last five years.

The Department only began systematically collecting this information for power generation projects in 2001 following the introduction of the Impact Questionnaire.