Gabon - Energy related methane emissions (% of total)

Energy related methane emissions (% of total) in Gabon was 27.36 as of 2008. Its highest value over the past 38 years was 91.02 in 1976, while its lowest value was 27.36 in 2008.

Definition: Methane emissions from energy processes are emissions from the production, handling, transmission, and combustion of fossil fuels and biofuels.

Source: World Bank staff estimates from original source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)/Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL). Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR): http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/.

See also:

Year Value
1970 55.68
1971 76.64
1972 76.38
1973 88.24
1974 90.44
1975 89.93
1976 91.02
1977 89.36
1978 88.66
1979 86.27
1980 87.64
1981 88.77
1982 87.27
1983 86.07
1984 90.31
1985 90.85
1986 87.95
1987 83.14
1988 86.62
1989 88.54
1990 88.10
1991 87.75
1992 86.93
1993 86.01
1994 85.56
1995 80.92
1996 77.63
1997 70.59
1998 60.83
1999 49.04
2000 33.33
2001 33.33
2002 31.87
2003 30.85
2004 29.29
2005 29.90
2006 28.71
2007 28.43
2008 27.36

Development Relevance: The addition of man-made greenhouse gases to the Atmosphere disturbs the earth's radiative balance. This is leading to an increase in the earth's surface temperature and to related effects on climate, sea level rise and world agriculture. Emissions of CO2 are from burning oil, coal and gas for energy use, burning wood and waste materials, and from industrial processes such as cement production. Emission intensity is the average emission rate of a given pollutant from a given source relative to the intensity of a specific activity. Emission intensities are also used to compare the environmental impact of different fuels or activities. The related terms - emission factor and carbon intensity - are often used interchangeably. The carbon dioxide emissions of a country are only an indicator of one greenhouse gas. For a more complete idea of how a country influences climate change, gases such as methane and nitrous oxide should be taken into account. This is particularly important in agricultural economies. The environmental effects of carbon dioxide are of significant interest. Carbon dioxide (CO2) makes up the largest share of the greenhouse gases contributing to global warming and climate change. Converting all other greenhouse gases (methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)) to carbon dioxide (or CO2) equivalents makes it possible to compare them and to determine their individual and total contributions to global warming. The Kyoto Protocol, an environmental agreement adopted in 1997 by many of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is working towards curbing CO2 emissions globally.

Limitations and Exceptions: National reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that follows the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines is based on national emission inventories and covers all sources of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions as well as carbon sinks (such as forests). To estimate emissions, the countries that are Parties to the Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) use complex, state-of-the-art methodologies recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Statistical Concept and Methodology: IPCC category 1 = Energy. Methane emissions result largely from agricultural activities, industrial production landfills and wastewater treatment, and other sources such as tropical forest and other vegetation fires. The emissions are usually expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents using the global warming potential, which allows the effective contributions of different gases to be compared. A kilogram of methane is 21 times as effective at trapping heat in the earth's atmosphere as a kilogram of carbon dioxide within 100 years. The emissions are usually expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents using the global warming potential, which allows the effective contributions of different gases to be compared.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Environment Indicators

Sub-Topic: Emissions