Extraction-Based Environmental Loadings

LEAP's standard environmental loading calculations are based on the standard territorial approach to emissions accounting used by countries when reporting their GHG emissions to the UNFCCC and laid out on the IPCC's GHG emissions inventories guidelines.  This methodology relies on accounting for the emissions associated with energy consumption and production based on the location (territory) where the emissions occur, and in particular where a fuel producing those emissions is combusted.  So for example, the emissions associated with coal mined in area A but combusted in area B are accounted for as belonging to area B.

Extraction-based environmental loadings is an optional alternative methodology that allows you to see emissions allocated to the area producing the emissions.  Comparing territorial and extraction-based loadings can be a helpful technique for illustrating the degree to which countries or economies are dependent on fossil fuel production, and the extent to which they may be vulnerable if the there is a global transition away from fossil fuels and toward low carbon economies, thus reducing the demand for such products.

Extraction-based environmental loadings are specified by entering emission factors under the Resources\Primary branches in the LEAP tree.  They represent the loadings ultimately associated with the extraction and subsequent consumption of the resource and its derivatives, regardless of where those loadings occur.

You can manually enter your own emission factors, or override the default factors obtained by linking to TED. So for example, you might link to the IPCC factors for greenhouse gases, but then add your own country- or technology-specific factors for other air pollutants. As with other LEAP expressions, emissions factors can be specified as simple numbers or as mathematical formulae. Many of the emission factors stored in TED are expressed as formulae in which the emission factor is itself a function of the chemical composition of the fuel being burnt. For example, SO2 emission factors are generally a function of the sulfur content of the fuel, and CO2 emission factors are often expressed as a function of the carbon content of the fuel. For more information on specifying environmental loadings, refer to information on the TED expressions.

To add an emission factor, click the add button () and select from the list of available effects. You can add additional effects on the Effects screen. Any environmental loadings created as links to TED are initially protected in Current Accounts and cannot be changed except by editing the data in TED itself.  Click the delete button ( ) to delete an effect. Environmental loadings are also shown as branches on the tree in Analysis View marked with the pollution icon (), and can also be deleted directly be editing the tree. When editing scenarios, future values for environmental loadings can always be edited, even for those loadings linked to TED.