Coal
and oil products consumption
AP-11
Air
Pollution
Pressure
1 Indicator
definition and unit of measurement
The
total annual amount of coal and oil products used by all economic activities,
and particularly energy production and transformation, industry, transportation
and domestic and tertiary sectors. The unit of measurement is Ktoe per year.
2 Placement
in the framework
5EAP:
Chapter
4: Selected target sectors, section 4.2: The energy sector.
Agenda
21:
Chapter
4: Changing consumption patterns; Chapter 9: Protection of the atmosphere,
section B: Promoting sustainable development, item 1: Energy development,
efficiency and consumption.
International
conventions and agreements:
Currently,
there are no conventions or agreements specifically referring to the regulation
and/or limitation of fossil fuels use. However, calls have been made for the
rational use of energy, fuel efficiency improvements and the switch to cleaner
forms of energy.
Ranking:
Core
ranking:
11
(14%)
Policy
Relevance:
7
(2.9)
Analytical
Soundness:
6
(3.0)
Responsiveness:
11
(2.6)
Most
appropriate related state indicator:
Exceedance
of concentration levels of various pollutants (SO2, NOx) into the atmosphere.
3 Significance
Purpose:
The
purpose of this indicator is to identify the most energy-consuming activities.
Relevance:
An
increase in energy produced from the use of fossil fuels leads to an increase
in air pollutants released into the atmosphere. Over the last few years, it has
become apparent that it will be virtually impossible to maintain the
consumption of fossil fuels at current rates because of their adverse
environmental effects and the gradual depletion of their reserves.
Linkages
to other pressure indicators:
Coal
and oil products combustion for energy purposes is also responsible for the
emissions of carbon dioxide and therefore it can be related to both the Climate
Change and Ozone Depletion policy fields (CC-1 and OD-4). In addition, the
growing global energy needs add to the demand on oil and coal reserves, the
depletion of which is dealt with indicators of the Resource Depletion policy
field referring to extraction and use of mineral resources (RD-2, RD-5 and RD-7).
Targets:
None.
4 Methodological
description and underlying definitions
Underlying
definitions and concepts:
On
a global scale, energy production/transformation is primarily based on the use
of fossil fuels and to a lesser extent on renewable energy sources. The
indicator can provide a measure for the improvement of fuel efficiency
standards and the switch to other clean forms of energy.
Measurement
methods:
The
total annual amount of coal and oil products consumed by all anthropogenic
activities can be derived from the energy statistics published by each country
or from various international or regional organisations (e.g. International
Energy Agency, EUROSTAT).
Limitations
of the indicator:
None.
Alternative
definitions:
None.
