Abstract:
This paper discusses the procedures and results of
constructing a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
inventory for South Africa, using the official national
energy balance for 1998. In doing so, the paper
offers a snapshot of the South African energy supply
and demand profile and encompassing greenhouse
gas emissions profiles, disaggregated into 40
economic sectors, for the reference year. For convenience,
energy supply and use are reported in
both native units and terra joule (TJ), while emissions
are expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents
and reported in giga-gram (Gg). While carbon dioxide
makes an overwhelming contribution to global
anthropogenic GHG emissions, the inclusion of
methane and nitrous oxide offers considerable richness
to the analysis of climate change policies.
Applying the energy balances, it was possible to
compile a comprehensive emissions inventory using
a consistent methodology across all sectors of the
economy. The inventory allows the economic analyst
to model various economic policies either with
fuel as an input to production, or the consumption
of fuel or the emissions generated during combustion,
as a base of the analysis. The dominant role of
coal as a source of energy, with a total primary energy
supply (TPES) of 3.3 million TJ or 70 per cent of
the total TPES, is clearly shown. Emissions from
coal combustion (263 783 Gg of carbon dioxide
equivalents or 74.7 per cent of total emissions) are
henceforth the largest contributor to total emissions,
estimated to be 352 932 Gg carbon dioxide equivalents.
Keywords: energy balances, greenhouse gas emissions,
greenhouse gas inventory, emission factors,
economic sectors, IPCC, South Africa
