Which sectors emit greenhouse gases?

In 2022, 31 percent of total greenhouse gases were emitted by industry, 19 percent by the electricity sector, 19 percent by the mobility sector (domestic traffic and transportation), 15 percent by agriculture, 12 percent by the built environment (due to heating powered by natural gas) and 3 percent by land use (such as CO₂ emissions from peat oxidation minus net CO₂ sequestration by forests).

These are the six sectors identified in the Climate Agreement and which count towards the Dutch target specified in the Climate Act (as amended on 21 July 2023). This target for total greenhouse gas emissions is based on at least a 55 percent reduction compared with 1990 levels by 2030.

Total emissions

In 2022, greenhouse gas emissions were lower than 1990 emissions by 70 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent. Industrial emissions in particular have come down significantly over the past 32 years (by 38 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent). With respect to the other five climate sectors, greenhouse gas emissions were down by the following amounts: built environment (10 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent), agriculture (9 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent), electricity (9 megatonnes CO^₂ equivalent), mobility (4 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent).

In 2022, emissions were lower than the previous year by 13 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent. This was due to the reduction in the use of natural gas. For each climate sector, greenhouse gas emissions were down by the following amounts: built environment (5 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent), industry (4 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent), agriculture (3 megatonnes CO₂ equivalent), electricity (2 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent).

These emissions figures include carbon dioxide (CO₂) but also other greenhouse gases: nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4) and fluorinated gases. One megatonne of CO₂ equivalent has the same effect in the earth’s atmosphere as one megatonne of carbon dioxide (= 1 billion kg of CO₂). The emission of 1 megatonne of nitrous oxide is equivalent to 265 megatonnes of CO₂, while the emission of 1 megatonne of methane is the equivalent to 28 megatonnes of CO₂. Fluorinated gases are significantly more potent greenhouse gases: 1 megaton of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), for example, is equivalent to 23.5 thousand megatonnes of CO₂.

These conversion factors have been applied since mid-September 2022 due to new IPCC regulations. Before that, the conversion factors for nitrous oxide, methane and sulphur hexafluoride were 298, 25 and 22.8 thousand, respectively.

Industry

Industrial emissions of methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases have been reduced significantly. In 2022, emissions of these non-CO₂ greenhouse gases were lower than in 1990 by 27 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent. These are the main areas where reductions have been achieved: emissions of methane from landfills and from oil and gas extraction have been lower (by 13 and 2 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent, respectively), emissions of fluorinated gases have been lower (6 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent) mainly due to the ban in the late 1990s, and nitrous oxide emissions have been lower (6 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent), due partly to changes made in the production of nitric acid in 2008.

In 2022, industrial emissions of CO₂ were 11 megatonnes lower than in 1990. This was the net result of an increase in emissions of 2 megatonnes by water utilities and waste management and a decrease of 13 megatonnes across various industrial sectors. The largest decreases were in the chemical industry (5 megatonnes) and the building materials and basic metal industries (2 megatonnes each). Emissions from the basic metal industry include not only emissions from the blast furnaces in Velsen, but also emissions from the associated coking plants.

Electricity sector

For many years, emissions from coal-fired power plants were stable at around 20 megatonnes of CO₂, but they spiked to 32 megatonnes of CO₂ in 2015. By 2018, however, emissions had dropped back to 20 megatonnes of CO₂. This spike in around 2015 was due to the gradual commissioning of new coal coal-fired power stations and the phasing out of older coal-fired power stations.
Emissions from the production of electricity using coal fell to 6 megatonnes of CO₂ in 2020 before rising again to 11 megatonnes of CO₂ in both 2021 and 2022. The use of coal to generate electricity increased in 2021 as the price of natural gas rose more rapidly than the price of coal.

Between 1990 and 2010, ever more natural gas was used to produce electricity, mainly because of increasing domestic demand for electricity. Relatively low net imports in 2009 and 2010 also played a role in the 2010 emissions peak. The use of natural gas then dropped back to a lower level as the demand for electricity levelled off and due to the greater use of renewable forms of energy to generate electricity.

CO₂ emissions from the use of natural gas to generate electricity doubled from 13 megatonnes in 1990 to 27 megatonnes in 2010, before dropping back to 18 megatonnes in 2012. The decline in 2015 (15 megatonnes of CO₂) was due to an increase in the use of coal to generate electricity. Over the subsequent five years, the use of coal was scaled back in favour of natural gas, and as a result, CO₂ emissions from natural gas-fired power plants rose to 21 megatonnes by 2020. In the subsequent two years, emissions from gas dropped to 13 megatonnes by 2022 due to the rising price of natural gas (more electricity generated from coal) and the increasing use of renewable forms of energy to generate electricity.

The remaining CO₂ emissions from the electricity sector come from the use of residual gases, such as gases from blast furnaces. These CO₂ emissions increased from 4 megatonnes in 1990 to 6 megatonnes in 2022.

Mobility sector

Half of all greenhouse gas emissions from domestic traffic and transportation (mainly CO₂) – i.e. excluding international air and maritime traffic – come from passenger cars. Another third of emissions are attributable to freight vehicles (mainly diesel-powered) and one tenth come from specialised work vehicles used in construction and agriculture (also mainly diesel-driven).
Emissions from passenger cars were down 20 percent year on year in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government's instructions to citizens to stay home and to work from home wherever possible. In the two subsequent years, emissions increased 1 percent annually (slightly more petrol was used, and slightly less diesel). Emissions from road transport were 18 percent lower in 2020 than they were prior to the pandemic in 2019.

The total number of vehicles on the road has been increasing steadily since 1990, and the average size of vehicles has also increased. This is reflected in the upward trend in CO₂ emissions since 1990 due to the growth in mobility, which has been continuous for about 20 years. The reversal in the upward trend in emissions in recent years is because vehicles are becoming more fuel-efficient, more biofuels are being used and more vehicles are powered by electric batteries.

Diesel cars became much more popular between 1996 and 2006, which explains the rise in CO₂ emissions from diesel vehicles during that period. The decline in CO₂ emissions from ‘other traffic and transport’ is due to the gradual reduction of cars running on LPG.

Agriculture

In 2022, the use of natural gas (which leads mainly to emissions of CO₂) accounted for 26 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. One year previously, that figure was 33 percent. As a result of higher natural gas prices, greenhouse horticulture firms scaled back their use of natural gas significantly. In 2022, emissions from the use of natural gas in greenhouse horticulture were down 29 percent compared with the previous year.

Greenhouses are heated partly using combined heat and power (CHP), which also produces electricity. More natural gas is consumed in colder years (such as 1996 and 2010) than in warmer years (2014). The use of CHP in greenhouse horticulture has been increasing since 2006, pushing up emissions of both CO₂ and methane. Nationwide, however, the use of CHP helps to reduce CO₂ emissions because it combines the production of electricity and heat. This is more efficient than producing electricity and heat separately using a power plant and a boiler.

Most of the other 74 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture come from livestock and the use of manure. Emissions from livestock and manure have come down, with a particularly steep reduction in the 1990s. Fermentation leads to the release of methane, which is produced in the digestive tracts of cattle in particular. In pig farming, too, methane (in particular) is produced by livestock as well as by manure that is being stored. The use of fertilisers, including both animal manure and and mineral fertilisers, leads to emissions of nitrous oxide. In addition to the sources outlined here, there are numerous minor emissions sources in agriculture, particularly of nitrous oxide.

Land use

Emissions from the land use sector have fluctuated between 4 and 6 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year. Net CO₂ sequestration by forests is included as a negative emission. Net sequestration fluctuates between 1 and 3 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year. This is offset by positive emissions, which fluctuate between 6 and 9 megatonnes of CO₂ equivalent. These include the CO₂ emissions from peat oxidation in soils and emissions from changes in land use that imply a lower rate of sequestration of carbon in the form of biomass (such as the construction of new buildings in previously green areas).

Built environment

Emissions from the built environment include CO₂ emissions from heating fuelled by natural gas in households and commercial buildings such as offices. Households’ share of total emissions from the built environment fluctuated between 70 and 71 percent from 2005 onwards, before rising to 73 percent in 2020 and 2021. This was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when more people worked from home and fewer worked in offices. By 2022, the share of household emissions had dropped back to 72 percent. The emissions peak in 2021 was due to the cold winter of 2021 compared the milder winters of 2020 and 2022.

Annual consumption of natural gas correlates with colder and milder winters. One measure of this is the number of degree days in a given year. For many years, CO₂ emissions from the built environment based on recorded natural gas consumption followed the pattern of degree days based on outdoor temperatures. However, over the past 20 years, emissions have fallen more sharply than might be expected based on the number of degree days. This is partly due to better home insulation and more efficient forms of heating. Over the past eight years, winters have not been very different from those of the 1990s, but emissions from natural gas combustion have been one-fifth lower, on average. In 2022, emissions were as much as one third lower due to the high price of natural gas in that year.