Air Pollution Data
By Irina Bright.
This article is part of our Environment section
See the complete list of all our Pollution Articles here.
Table 1: Sectors and Air Pollutants Emitted (Ref. 1)
Sector |
Air Pollutants Emitted |
Biofuel Combustion |
Mostly CO; also SO2 and NOx |
Industry & Refineries |
Mostly SO2; also NOx and CO |
Power Generation |
Mostly SO2 and NOx; also CO |
Residential, Commercial, and Other Sector |
Mostly SO2 and CO; also NOx |
Road, Rail, Air & Other Transport |
Mostly NOx and CO; also SO2 |
Shipping |
Mostly NOx and SO2; also CO |
Oil Extraction, Transportation and Handling |
Mostly SO2; also CO and NOx |
Iron, Steel & Non-ferrous metals |
Mostly SO2, NOx and CO |
Chemicals |
SO2 |
Building Materials |
SO2 and NOx |
Pulp & Paper |
Mostly SO2; also NOx and CO |
Deforestation |
Mostly CO; also NOx and SO2 |
Agriculture Waste Burning |
Mostly CO; also NOx and SO2 |
Waste incineration, non-energy |
Mostly CO; also NOx and SO2 |
Agriculture, incl. animal farming |
NH3 |
Table 2: Breakdown of Sectors for Global SO2 Emissions in Gg, Year 2000 based on EDGAR Data (Ref. 2)
Sector |
SO2, Gg |
Biofuel Combustion |
3,163 |
Industry (excl. refineries etc) |
24,347 |
Power Generation |
53,592 |
Other Transformation Sector (incl. refineries etc) |
10,212 |
Residential, Commercial, and Other Sector |
8,117 |
Road |
3,659 |
Rail and Other Non-Road |
1,957 |
Air |
212 |
Intl. Shipping |
7,288 |
Oil Extraction, Transportation and Handling |
4,175 |
Iron & Steel |
944 |
Non-ferrous metals |
21,283 |
Chemicals |
2,880 |
Building Materials |
2,648 |
Pulp & Paper |
990 |
Deforestation, incl. Tropical Forest Fires |
1,214 |
Savannah and Shrubs Fires |
2,956 |
Agriculture Waste Burning |
173 |
Middle & High Latitude Forest Fires |
110 |
Middle & High Latitude Grassland Fires |
373 |
Waste incineration (non-energy) |
48 |
Total: |
150,339 |
Table 3: Breakdown of Sectors for Global NOx Emissions in Gg NO2, Year 2000 based on EDGAR Data (Ref. 3)
Sector |
NOx, Gg NO2 |
Biofuel Combustion |
8,209 |
Industry (excl. refineries etc) |
9,630 |
Power Generation |
24,792 |
Other Transformation Sector (incl. refineries etc) |
2,260 |
Residential, Commercial, and Other Sector |
3,025 |
Road |
28,471 |
Rail and Other Non-Road |
5,861 |
Air |
2,328 |
Intl. Shipping |
9,574 |
Oil Extraction, Transportation and Handling |
447 |
Iron & Steel |
1,052 |
Non-ferrous metals |
1,008 |
Chemicals |
- |
Building Materials |
4,965 |
Pulp & Paper |
178 |
Deforestation, incl. Tropical Forest Fires |
6,247 |
Savannah and Shrubs Fires |
15,204 |
Agriculture Waste Burning |
740 |
Middle & High Latitude Forest Fires |
560 |
Middle & High Latitude Grassland Fires |
1,917 |
Waste incineration (non-energy) |
144 |
Total: |
126,610 |
Table 4: Breakdown of Sectors for Global CO Emissions in Gg, Year 2000 based on EDGAR Data (Ref. 4)
Sector |
CO, Gg |
Biofuel Combustion |
250,758 |
Industry (excl. refineries etc) |
3,665 |
Power Generation |
1,826 |
Other Transformation Sector (incl. refineries etc) |
245 |
Residential, Commercial, and Other Sector |
27,413 |
Road |
185,813 |
Rail and Other Non-Road |
12,809 |
Air |
1,771 |
Intl. Shipping |
102 |
Oil Extraction, Transportation and Handling |
10,144 |
Iron & Steel |
33,728 |
Non-ferrous metals |
97 |
Chemicals |
- |
Building Materials |
- |
Pulp & Paper |
664 |
Deforestation, incl. Tropical Forest Fires |
192,171 |
Savannah and Shrubs Fires |
280,828 |
Agriculture Waste Burning |
16,397 |
Middle & High Latitude Forest Fires |
18,663 |
Middle & High Latitude Grassland Fires |
35,402 |
Waste incineration (non-energy) |
3,830 |
Total: |
1,076,327 |
Compiled by: Irina Bright
Original publication date: 2008
Republication date: 2020
Reference.
1. Based on a list of industries from databases of air pollutants provided by:
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (August 16, 2005). Emissions Databases for Major Greenhouse Gases. Retrieved November 1, 2008 from http://www.mnp.nl/edgar/model/v32ft2000edgar/
2. Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (August 16, 2005). Emissions Databases for Major Acidifying Gases. Retrieved November 1, 2008 from http://www.mnp.nl/edgar/model/v32ft2000edgar/edgarv32ft_acid/
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.