Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics 2023

2023 results

Chart 2 presents the net sources and sinks of Scottish Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2023, grouped by sector. 

Chart 2. Scottish Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Territorial Emissions Statistics Sector, 2023.

 

Main points

• In 2023, Domestic transport (excluding International Aviation and Shipping) (11.4 MtCO2e) was the largest source of net emissions, followed by Buildings and product use (7.7 MtCO2e), Agriculture (7.5 MtCO2e), Industry (5.1 MtCO2e) and Fuel supply (2.9 MtCO2e).
• Less significant emitters in 2023 were: International aviation and shipping (IA&S) (1.8 MtCO2e), Waste (1.7 MtCO2e), and Electricity supply (1.0 MtCO2e.
• Whilst only contributing 0.5 MtCO2e to total net emissions in 2023, the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector is important in that this sector emitted 15.3 MtCO2e of gross greenhouse gases in 2023, whilst removing 14.8 MtCO2e of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, mainly in forestry.

Table 2. Scottish Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Gas and by Territorial Emissions Statistics Sector 2023. Values in MtCO2e

TES sector	Carbon Dioxide	Methane	Nitrous Oxide	Fluorinated gases	Total
Agriculture	1.2	4.5	1.9		7.5
Buildings and product uses	7.1	0.1	0.1	0.4	7.7
Domestic transport	11.1	0.0	0.1	0.1	11.4
Electricity supply	0.9	0.0	0.0		1.0
Fuel supply	2.6	0.3	0.0		2.9
Industry	5.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	5.1
International aviation and shipping	1.7	0.0	0.0		1.8
LULUCF	-3.9	3.7	0.7		0.5
Waste	0.0	1.6	0.1		1.7
Net emissions	25.7	10.3	2.9	0.6	39.6

 

Main points

Carbon dioxide was the main net greenhouse gas emitted or removed in most sectors, with the exceptions of the Agriculture and Waste Management sectors.

• Methane was the main net gas emitted in the Agriculture (4.5 MtCO2e), followed by nitrous oxide (1.9 MtCO2e) and carbon dioxide (1.2 MtCO2e).
• Almost all emissions in the Waste Management sector were emitted in the form of methane (1.6 MtCO2e).
• LULUCF was a net sink of Carbon Dioxide (-3.9 MtCO2e) but a net emitter of Methane (+3.7 MtCO2e) and Nitrous Oxide (+0.7 MtCO2e).

Where F gases are emitted, they have been in relatively small amounts via the Buildings and product use, Domestic transport and Industry sectors.

 

Key Trends By Territorial Emissions Statistics Sector

Chart 3 presents the main sources of Scottish Greenhouse Gas Emissions from 1990 to 2023, broken down by Territorial Emissions Statistics Sector.  

Chart 3: Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Scotland, by Territorial Emissions Statistics Sector 1990 to 2023.

 

 

Long term (1990 to 2023) and short term (2022 to 2023) trends by category

Chart 4 shows how emissions have changed between 1990 and 2023 in all source categories.  Chart 5 shows how emissions have changed between 2022 and 2023.

 

Chart 4. Change in net emissions by Territorial Emissions Statistics Sector between 1990 and 2023

 

Chart 5. Change in net emissions by Territorial Emissions Statistics Sector between 2022 and 2023.

 

Total Emissions

Overall, there has been a 41.6 MtCO2e (51.3 per cent) decrease in net emissions between 1990 and 2023.  In the latest year, 2023, total net emissions fell by 0.8 MtCO2e (1.9%).

 

 

Land Use, Land Use Change And Forestry (LULUCF)

LULUCF is a net source of GHG emissions in Scotland in 2023, emitting 0.6 MtCO2e of net emissions. In 1990 net emissions were 6.0 MtCO2e. In the period 2009-2017, and 2021-2022, LULUCF exhibited net removals of greenhouse gases in Scotland.

Chart 6 below shows, for each sub-sector of the land use sector in 2023, that the net total includes some significant emissions sources, and equally significant ‘sinks’ which remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.  Forestry and grassland on mineral soils categories are net sinks of GHG emissions in 2023, removing a net amount of GHG emissions of 7.6 MtCO2e and 3.6 MtCO2e respectively.  All other land use types are net sources of greenhouse gas emissions, with peatlands and mineral croplands showing substantial net emissions to the atmosphere.

 

Chart 6. Sources and sinks of GHG emissions in Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry, Scotland, 2023

* Cropland and Grassland relate to mineral soils only; emissions from these categories on organic soils are included in the Peatland category.

 

Domestic Transport

Domestic Transport has consistently been a large part of Scotland’s emissions.  This sector showed dramatic reduction in emissions associated with the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 (-2.4 MtCO2e) but rebounded in 2021 by 0.9 MtCO2e, and increased again in 2022 by 0.3 MtCO2e.   In the latest year, domestic transport emissions fell slightly by 0.1 MtCO2e.

 

Electricity supply                                                     

Energy Supply was historically the biggest contributor to emissions, but has seen very large changes over the period covered by these statistics, reducing from 14.7 MtCO2e in 1990 to 1.0 MtCO2e in 2023 (93.4 per cent reduction). Overall emissions reductions in this sector are mainly due to reductions in emissions as a result of the complete cessation of coal use for electricity generation in Scotland, and a reduction in fossil fuel generation more generally.

Between 2022 and 2023 Electricity Supply emissions decreased by 0.8 MtCO2e (44.0 per cent increase). This decrease was largely due to decreased gas generation during 2023.

Chart 7 below shows a breakdown of electricity generation emissions in Scotland, by fuel.  It shows that coal fired power stations emitted a very large amount of emissions historically (peaking at a level of 15.2 MtCO2e in 2001 but showed a dramatic decrease in emissions starting from 2013, before ceasing entirely from 2017.

Gas generation has shown a generally decreasing trend over the time-series.

Energy from waste (EfW) emissions have historically been very low and only reached a notable level from 2019 when these emissions equalled 0.3 MtCO2e.  Emissions have stayed at this level since, but we expect future increases in these emissions as more plants, currently under construction, begin operation.  In 2023, EfW plants contributed 31.3 per cent of total emissions from electricity generation, largely due to the reduced contribution of gas generation to the energy mix.

 

Chart 7.  Electricity generation emissions by fuel source, Scotland, 1990-2023.

Industry

This sector has seen a 7.5 MtCO2e (59.5 per cent) fall in emissions between 1990 and 2023.  As shown in Chart 3, much of this decrease occurred between 1990 and 1995 – linked to a decline in emissions from manufacturing and the iron and steel industry over this time period. There was a further smaller reduction between 2008 and 2009 coinciding with the recession.  Between 2022 and 2023 there was a reduction of 0.1 MtCO2e in total emissions from industry.

 

Agriculture

This sector has seen a 1.1 MtCO2e (13.0 per cent) fall in emissions between 1990 and 2023.  Between 2022 and 2023 agricultural emissions essentially remained constant at a level of 7.5 MtCO2e, falling marginally by 0.1%.

 

Buildings and product uses

The Buildings and product uses sector is dominated by direct fuel combustion for home heating in households, and other buildings. There has been a reduction of 31.0 per cent between 1990 and 2023. This long-term decrease is mainly due to a switch from less efficient solid and liquid fuels to natural gas for heating, and improvements in energy efficiency.

Buildings and product uses decreased marginally between 2022 and 2023 from 7.8 MtCO2e to 7.7 MtCO2e (-1.6 per cent).  As ambient temperatures were relatively stable on average between the 2 years, albeit with much more moderate temperatures in December 2023. This change in emissions was likely caused by elevated fuel prices, leading to a reduction in demand  (Chart 8).

 

Chart 8.  Mean air temperature by month, Scotland. 2022 and 2023.

Data obtained from Met Office[1]

International Aviation and shipping (IA&S)

International aviation was affected dramatically during the early part of the COVID-19 restrictions with International shipping affected to a lesser degree.  Between 1990 and 2023, international aviation and shipping increased by 0.4 MtCO2e.  Between 2022 and 2023 international aviation and shipping emissions increased by 0.3 MtCO2e (18.6 per cent increase) and have now essentially returned to their pre-COVID levels.

 

Waste Management

Waste management emissions are dominated by methane emissions. Emissions from Waste Management have been relatively static over recent years, with a value of 1.7 MtCO2e in 2023.  However, between 1990 and 2023 emissions reduced by 4.6 MtCO2e (73.1 per cent). This decrease is largely due to the progressive introduction of methane capture and oxidation systems within landfill management.

 

Fuel supply

Fuel supply emissions relate to the production and supply of fossil fuels and other energy sources.  These emissions have more than halved since 1990, reducing by 3.7 MtCO2e over that period.

 

Emissions by type of gas

Chart 9 shows the trends in emissions, broken down by gas from 1990 to 2023

 

Chart 9.  Scottish Greenhouse Gas Emissions, by Gas, 1990-2023.

 

Main Points

• Carbon dioxide is by far the largest contributor to Scottish greenhouse gas emissions in all years (65.0 per cent of all emissions in 2023) and is the most volatile series of all gases – largely driven by changes in energy supply emissions and to a lesser extent, emissions from the buildings.
• Methane is the second most common greenhouse gas in 2023 (26.0 per cent of all net emissions) followed by nitrous oxide (7.4 per cent) and F-gases making up the remainder (1.6 per cent).   
• Carbon dioxide has seen the largest reduction from 1990 to 2023 (33.3 MtCO2e reduction). There have also been reductions in both methane (7.5 MtCO2e reduction) and nitrous oxide (1.3 MtCO2e reduction).  Emissions from fluorinated gases showed a large increase from 1990 to 2013 but have been declining since that time.  Although they still remain small in absolute terms, some of these gases have particularly large global warming potentials.  These HFCs replace chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which were banned by the Montreal Protocol due to their impact on the ozone layer.

Charts 10 to 13 present results on individual gases broken down by main sectors over time.  Chart 10 shows how carbon dioxide emissions have changed from 1990 to 2023.

 

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Chart 10. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions by Territorial Emissions Statistics Sector, 1990 to 2023. 

  

 

Main Points

• Chart 10 shows that Electricity Supply was a key source of carbon dioxide emissions in the earlier part of the time-series, after which the change in fuels used in electricity generation substantially reduces CO2 emissions from this source. Change in electricity supply emissions is the main driver of changes in total carbon dioxide emissions.
• Transport (excluding international) is the next most common source of carbon dioxide emissions across the entire time-series.
• The LULUCF sector, has become a much greater net CO2 sink for Scotland over the time-series. In 1990 it emitted 1.3 MtCO2 of net CO2 emissions.  From 1995, this sector became a net-CO2 sink, reaching a maximum in 2012 when it acted to sequestrate 5.0 MtCO2.  Since that time, this net CO2 sink has been generally reducing to its current (2023) level where it reached net CO2 emissions of -3.9 MtCO2 These trends reflect forestry planting activities in the early 1990s reaching maturity and gradually reducing its potential to remove CO2.

 

Methane (CH4)

Chart 11. Methane (CH4) Emissions by Territorial Emissions Statistics Sector 1990 to 2023.

 

Main Points

• Methane emissions from Waste Management have fallen by 4.7 MtCO2e between 1990 and 2023 (a 74.9 per cent reduction). This is largely due to the progressive introduction of methane capture and oxidation systems within landfill management.
• In the Fuel Supply sector, methane emissions have fallen by 1.7 MtCO2e between 1990 and 2023 (an 83.4 per cent reduction), partly due to reductions in emissions from sources such as coal mining.
• Methane emissions in the Agriculture sector have fallen by 0.9 MtCO2e between 1990 and 2023 (a 17.3 per cent reduction).  This is mainly due to a decrease in livestock numbers (particularly cattle and sheep).
• Land Use emissions of methane have risen very slightly over the entire time-series.

 

Nitrous Oxide (N2O)

Chart 12.  Nitrous Oxide (N2O) Emissions by Territorial Emissions Statistics Sector, 1990 to 2023.

 

Main Points

• Agriculture is by far the main contributor to emissions of nitrous oxide.  These are largely produced by agricultural practices on soils, and to a lesser extent by animal manures.  Emissions of nitrous oxide in this sector have fallen by 0.6 MtCO2e between 1990 and 2023 – a 23.9 per cent reduction.
• ‘Land Use, Land Use Change And Forestry’ fell by 0.3 MtCO2e (29.8 per cent reduction) between 1990 and 2023.

 

Fluorinated gases (F-gases)

Chart 13. F-gas Emissions by Territorial Emissions Statistics Sector, 1990 to 2023

 

Main Points

• F gases are the most potent greenhouse gases with high global warming potentials but they are emitted in very small quantities in a limited number of sectors.  As a result, they contribute less to global warming than the other greenhouse gases in Scotland. (For historical targets, these gases use 1995 as a baseline year rather than 1990)
• There is a sharp increase in HFC gases of 0.9 MtCO2e between 1990 and 2013 (from 0.2 MtCO2e in 1995 to 1.1 MtCO2e in 2013), but have since decreased every year from that peak.   This change was largely in the buildings and product use sector. This increase is because F gases were introduced to replace chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were used in appliances such as industrial air conditioning units.  CFCs were banned under the Montreal Protocol, as they were contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer. 

 

Table 3. Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Scotland by Territorial Emissions Statistics Sector: 1990 to 2023. Values in MtCO2e

Sector	1990	2022	2023	1990-2023		2022-2023
				Change	% Change	Change	% Change
Agriculture	8.6	7.5	7.5	-1.1	-13.0%	0.0	-0.1%
Buildings and product uses	11.1	7.8	7.7	-3.4	-31.0%	-0.1	-1.6%
Domestic transport	13.8	11.5	11.4	-2.4	-17.3%	-0.1	-1.2%
Electricity supply	14.7	1.7	1.0	-13.8	-93.4%	-0.8	-44.0%
Fuel supply	6.6	3.4	2.9	-3.7	-55.9%	-0.4	-12.9%
Industry	12.7	5.3	5.1	-7.5	-59.5%	-0.1	-2.6%
International aviation and shipping	1.3	1.5	1.8	0.4	33.4%	0.3	18.6%
LULUCF	6.0	-0.1	0.5	-5.5	-91.0%	0.6	-971.2%
Waste	6.3	1.8	1.7	-4.6	-73.1%	-0.1	-3.1%
Net emissions	81.2	40.3	39.6	-41.6	-51.3%	-0.8	-1.9%

(some early years omitted to fit table on page, full table available in the accompanying excel tables file)

 

Table 4. Scottish Greenhouse Gases, by gas, 1990 to 2023. Values in MtCO2e

Gas	1990	2022	2023	1990-2023		2022-2023
				Change	% Change	Change	% Change
CO2	59.0	26.3	25.7	-33.3	-56.4%	-0.6	-2.4%
CH4	17.8	10.4	10.3	-7.5	-42.2%	-0.1	-1.0%
N2O	4.2	2.9	2.9	-1.3	-30.4%	0.0	-0.7%
F-Gases	0.2	0.7	0.6	0.5	290.5%	0.0	-4.7%
HFCs	0.0	0.6	0.6	0.6	22812.6%	0.0	-3.5%
PFCs	0.1	0.0	0.0	-0.1	-64.6%	0.0	-8.7%
SF6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	-9.8%	0.0	-16.6%
NF3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	-17.5%	0.0	0.0%
Net emissions	81.2	40.3	39.6	-41.6	-51.3%	-0.8	-1.9%

(some early years omitted to fit table on page, full table available in the accompanying excel tables file)

 

Table 5:  Emissions from electricity generation by fuel source, 1990 to 2023.  Values in MtCO2e

Fuel source	1990		2022		2023		1990-2023  Change	2022-2023 Change
Power stations - coal		11.5		0.0		0.0	-11.5	0.0
Power stations - gas		0.0		1.4		0.6	0.6	-0.7
Power stations - municipal solid waste		0.0		0.3		0.3	0.3	0.0
Power stations - other fuel		0.0		0.0		0.0	0.0	0.0
Power stations - petroleum		3.2		0.1		0.0	-3.1	0.0
Net emissions		14.7		1.7		1.0	-13.8	-0.8