Tag: emission inventory

Advancing Emission Inventory Management for Combustion Sources: Insights from the EANET Workshop

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

Bangkok, 22 February 2024

The Network Center for the EANET organized a virtual Emission Inventory Workshop on Combustion Sources on December 11, 2023. The event featured expert lectures and brief participant presentations. The first session covered key topics such as the importance of emission inventory in managing atmospheric environmental issues, methodologies for estimating emissions from stationary sources and the transportation sector, and the framework of national emission inventory. Participants also shared the status and pertinent data on emissions from combustion sources in their respective countries and discussed ideas for EANET’s involvement in addressing combustion emissions. Approximately 60 participants attended the workshop.

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Exploring Emission Inventory Strategies: Insights from Expert Lectures

Dr. Toshimasa Ohara from the Center for Environmental Science in Saitama, Japan delivered a lecture on the significance of emission inventories in managing atmospheric environmental issues. The presentation began with an overview of air pollution status and historical trends of emissions in East Asia. It then covered fundamental aspects of emission inventories such as estimation methodologies, types, target species, and their role in atmospheric environmental management. Additionally, examples were provided on how emission inventories are applied, including assessing the impacts of control measures and utilizing them as input data for air quality model simulations.

Dr. Jun-ichi Kurokawa, from the Asia Center for Air Pollution Research, delivered two lectures. The first focused on methodologies for estimating emissions from stationary sources. It began with an introduction to the basic principles of developing emission inventories and included examples of calculating emissions from a coal-fired power plant. The lecture then detailed the actual procedures for estimating emissions, following the process flow of emission inventory development: defining scope and structure, designing methodology, collecting necessary data (e.g. activity data, emission factors, and reduction rates), and finally calculating emissions and creating final products. A case study on the evaluation of emission controls for SO2 in Japan was also presented. The second lecture covered various issues related to emission inventory, including methodologies for developing gridded emission data, evaluating uncertainties in emission inventories, and inverse modeling. Additionally, the lecture explored the interrelationships among emission inventories, monitoring, modeling, and stakeholders, including policymakers.

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Figure 1- Screenshot of some participants during the Workshop

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Dr. Didin Agustian Permadi, from the National Institute of Technology in Bandung, Indonesia, delivered a lecture on emission inventories for the transport sector, focusing on on-road mobile sources, civil aviation, and shipping. For on-road mobile sources, the lecture covered methodologies for estimating emissions from road vehicles, including both basic approaches using bulk emission factors and advanced methods accounting for running and start-up emissions. The presentation also introduced on-road transport emission models such as the International Vehicle Emission Model (IVE). Regarding civil aviation, the lecture discussed emissions from airport activities and during cruising, presenting three levels of methodologies to estimate these emissions. Procedures for estimating shipping emissions were also provided. Case studies demonstrating the calculation of emissions from airports and major harbors in Indonesia were presented to illustrate the application of these methodologies.

Dr. Jongmin Joo, from the National Air Emission Inventory and Research Center in the Republic of Korea, presented a lecture on the national official emission inventory, focusing on the National Air Pollutant Emission Inventory of the Republic of Korea. The lecture began with an introduction to the Clean Air Policy Support System (CAPSS) of the Republic of Korea, an air pollutant emissions estimation system operating at a national level. The framework of the CAPSS system was outlined, followed by discussions on methodologies for estimating emissions from point sources, mobile sources, and area sources. The presentation included emission estimation results for 2020, as well as procedures for emissions recalculation for the years 2016 to 2019. Future plans for CAPSS were also discussed, which involve identifying previously unaccounted sources such as small and medium-sized businesses and fertilizers in farmland. Additionally, plans were presented for establishing a Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) emissions inventory and developing a health risk assessment system.

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Addressing Combustion Emissions: Participants’ perspectives

During the second session, participants exchanged information on significant combustion sources, discussing the air pollution status and control measures in their countries. They also highlighted ongoing activities related to emission inventories. In the ensuing discussions, many countries identified the continuous enhancement of national emission inventories as a challenge and expressed the desire for additional EANET projects focusing on capacity-building activities. Suggestions included not only webinars but also on-site training courses. The Network Center for the EANET, as the workshop organizer, will assess potential future activities through the EANET Project Fund.

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Find out more about the EANET Project Fund.

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Useful Resources

Download the Workshop’s presentations

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Photo credits: featured photo by Eduardo Cano Photo Co. on Unsplash, free of copyrights; other pictures: all rights reserved to EANET.

Kick-off Meeting – Stocktaking and Methodological Assessment of Emissions Inventories and Source Apportionment of Air Pollution in Southeast Asia

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

Emissions inventories kick-off meeting

1. Background

EANET is working to reduce acid deposition and air pollution in Northeast and Southeast Asia. It is an intergovernmental initiative established in 2001 including 13 Participating Countries initially focused on acid deposition. In 2021, EANET expanded its scope to cover broader air pollution issues and established a Project Fund mechanism to promote cooperation with other organizations outside of EANET.

EANET’s activities are guided by its five-year Medium-Term Plans and a detailed Work Programme and Budget including projects, approved by the Participating Countries every year. A project called “Stocktaking and Methodological Assessment of Emissions Inventories and Source Apportionment of Air Pollution in Southeast Asia” has been approved for implementation in 2024, at the Twenty-fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Meeting (IG25) on the EANET, as a Project Activity, funded by the EANET Project Fund and implemented in partnership with the Asian Institute of Technology, Regional Resource for Asia Pacific (RRC.AP/AIT).

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2. Objectives

Emissions inventories and source apportionment of air pollution are fundamental elements of an air quality management framework. They enable policymakers, government regulators, and experts to better understand the sources of air pollution and their contribution to ambient air quality and identify appropriate policies. Many emissions inventory and source apportionment studies have been conducted in the EANET region.

This project aims to collate and analyze relevant key studies based on research and consultations with EANET National Focal Points and make these studies available as a database on the EANET website. The project will also identify follow-up opportunities and projects to work emissions inventories and/or source apportionment in the region.

An inception meeting of the project will be organized on Tuesday 26 March 2024 at the UN Conference Center (UNCC), meeting room B,  in Bangkok, Thailand. The objective of the meeting is to better understand the emissions inventory/ source apportionment situation in Southeast Asia and discuss with potential project partners the detailed activities to be carried out in the project. Participation in this meeting is by invitation only.

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2. Draft Agenda (updated on 22 MAR)
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Find out more about the EANET Project Activities on the EANET Project Fund page, and contact the Secretariat for the EANET for more information on the Emissions Inventories project.

The EANET Emission Inventory Webinar Workshop on Combustion Sources – Join us on December 11th!

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

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Registration is now closed.

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1. Background

When addressing atmospheric environmental issues in the EANET Participating Countries, the primary focus should be on sources of fuel combustion. This includes, but is not limited to, major power plants, industrial facilities, residential areas, and road transportation. Emissions from combustion sources often cause large adverse impacts on human health and ecosystems by acid deposition, high concentrations of PM2.5 and ozone, etc.

In order to tackle severe air pollution problems, it is essential to understand the status of emissions of air pollutants and consider the effectiveness of mitigation measures. Emission inventories are essential to obtain such information and help to develop appropriate atmospheric environmental policies. The methodologies to estimate emissions from combustion sources are basic and are essential for the development of national emission inventories.

The workshop EANET Emission Inventory Webinar on Combustion Sources will be held online on 11 December 2023, from 12:30-16:30 (Bangkok time, UTC+7). This workshop is organized by the Network Center for the EANET, hosted by the Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP).

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2. Objectives and Participants

The objectives of the Emission Inventory Webinar are to learn the basic methodologies to estimate emissions from combustion sources including stationary and mobile sources. In addition, the various roles of emission inventories in atmospheric environmental management, frameworks of national emission inventories, and related issues will be introduced.

This workshop targets particularly technical officers, practitioners, and policymakers who are involved in atmospheric environmental management issues, especially those in charge of or interested in developing a national emission inventory.

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3. Program

4. Registration

To participate in the EANET Emission Inventory Webinar Workshop on Combustion Sources, please fill in and send back the registration form by 30 November 2023.

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For further inquiries, contact the Network Center for the EANET.

The EANET Emission Inventory Webinar Workshop on Open Biomass Burning

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

8 December 2022 – Niigata, Japan

The Network Center (NC) for the EANET organized the EANET Emission Inventory Webinar Workshop on Open Biomass Burning on 5 December 2022 gathering expert panelists from Japan, Thailand, the USA, and about 50 participants from the EANET countries. Starting with lecture presentations on methodologies to estimate emissions from open biomass burning sources, evaluate uncertainties in estimated emissions, and analyze influences of emissions using air quality models, the Workshop also included, in the second session, presentations from participants on open biomass burning emissions in their respective countries, concluded by discussions on the EANET’s potential role and activities related to open biomass burning.

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Expert Lectures and Use Cases on Open Biomass-Burning Emission Inventories from Asia and Beyond
Screenshot from some panelists and participants during the virtual Workshop

Dr. Savitri Garivait from the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment, Centre of Excellence on Energy Technology and Environment, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand, presented a comprehensive lecture introducing basic knowledge and information related to open biomass burning emissions. First, Dr. Savitri introduced various types of open biomass burning, namely, forest fires, agricultural waste burning, and solid waste burning. Then, she presented methodologies to estimate emissions from open biomass burning such as basic equations, how to collect activity data as well as information necessary for spatial distribution and temporal variation, and selection of emission factors. To produce activity data, Dr. Savitri emphasized the importance of questionnaire surveys on local and specific data, in order to reduce uncertainties. She finally presented detailed case studies on the evaluation of the contribution of emissions from open biomass burning to the overall emissions and air pollution in Thailand and the Bangkok Metropolitan Region.

 

Dr. Kristofer Lasko, from the Geospatial Research Laboratory, at the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), United States, provided a lecture focusing on uncertainties of open biomass burning emission inventories, especially on the amount of burned dry matter based on satellite observation data, emission factors for different biomass burning types, and land cover type maps to determine which emission factors to be applied. In his presentation, he explained the major causes of uncertainties based on satellite data including influences of cloud coverage at or near the time of burning, the insufficient spatial resolution to detect agricultural fires, and the limitation in determining actual burned amounts in the field via remote sensing data. For emission factors, Dr. Lasko emphasized the difficulty is not only the uncertainty of each factor but also the variations due to aspects such as variation in burning practices (e.g., piled residue burn vs. open field burn) and moisture. In his presentation, case studies for PM2.5 emission inventories of Viet Nam and the Southeast Asian region were also showcased.

Dr. Katsuhige Uranishi, Department of Life and Environment Engineering, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, the University of Kitakyushu, Japan, provided a lecture about how to evaluate the influences of emissions from open biomass burning on the air quality of neighboring areas using air quality models. First, Dr. Uranishi introduced the basic knowledge and settings of an air quality modeling system by using the Weather Research and Forecasting model and Community Multiscale Air Quality model (WRF/CMAQ) system as an example. He then also presented the Brute-force method, a typical methodology to estimate the contribution of PM2.5 sources using an air quality modeling system. Finally, Dr. Uranishi explained simulation examples for the evaluation of PM2.5 transboundary transport, through case studies in Japan. Because uncertainties are not only in open biomass burning emissions but also in the modeling systems, Dr. Uranishi emphasized that the model performance must be evaluated with observation data prior to estimating air pollution levels or impact. He also recommended reviewing past studies to find appropriate settings of air quality modeling systems to target specific problems.

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Open Biomass-Burning Emissions Status and Control Measures in East Asia

Participants, in the second session, shared various information about open biomass burning emissions in their respective countries. The presentations covered major sources of open biomass burning emissions and how the emissions are estimated or evaluated in each participant’s country. They also considered how open burning influences air quality and what current control measures are in place in each represented country. These presentations and practical activities were followed by discussions on the EANET’s Project Activities related to open biomass burning emissions including national emission inventories to be organized in 2023.

Participants expressed interest to attend future capacity-building activities related to emission inventories not only from open biomass burning but also from other sources. The monitoring of emission sources to determine local emission factors was also suggested. The NC for the EANET, the organizer of the Workshop will consider the possible future activities to the EANET Project Fund.

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Useful Resources

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Photo credits: featured photo of Pom Coong Village, Viet Nam (2020) by Patrick McGregor on Unsplash ; other photos: all rights reserved to EANET.

Intensive training for city government officials: EANET-Clean Air Asia Workshop on Emission Inventory Development for the Management of Emissions from the Transport Sector

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

24 November 2022 – Manila, Philippines

The Network Center for the EANET (NC) and Clean Air Asia organized the EANET-Clean Air Asia Workshop on Emission Inventory Development for the Management of Emissions from the Transport Sector, an intensive training for city government officials held on November 23, 2022, in Manila, Philippines, as a side-event to the 24th Intergovernmental Meeting (IG24) on the EANET. It was attended by more than 90 participants, in-person and online, representing 14 countries from the EANET Region and beyond, gathered to learn about the different tools to calculate emissions from the transport sector and discuss the importance of using data for policy.

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Developing an Emission Inventory

Developing an emission inventory is critically important for air pollution management purposes. The accurate estimation of emissions from various sources such as factories, power plants, cars, households, etc… allows the production of basic data, using scientific tools like environmental assessments, for policy-makers to prevent the adverse effects on human health and ecosystems of air pollution.

Presentations and panel discussion with Ms. Everlyn Tamayo, Dr. Didin Agustian Permadi, Dr. Shaojun Zhang, Ms. Kathleen Dematera-Contreras, Dr. Raymund Abad and Mr. Myron Alcanzare introduced the general principle of the emission inventory, outputs, and typical actions to be applied to policy development.

Participants also worked on an exercise on motor vehicle emissions by using a desktop program/application developed by Dr. Permadi with support from Clean Air Asia, allowing participants to apply the methodology to their respective countries/cities.

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Engaging Policymakers

Through the workshop, participants learned about the variety of methods and tools to calculate emissions from the transport sector, while noting that the final approach to be implemented would vary depending on the objectives and available resources of the personnel or city. Calculating emissions under different scenarios was recommended as it provides an overview of the impact of measures or policies. Finally, the importance of high-quality data was emphasized to build capacity and strengthen the engagement between policymakers and researchers performing the emissions inventory.

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Ways Forward

The development of an emission inventory is a powerful and essential tool for understanding the status of air pollutants emissions and considering the effectiveness of mitigation measures. EANET activities related to the development of emission inventories will continuously be conducted in the future. In 2023, EANET will organize a webinar workshop for capacity building on emission inventories related to combustion sources and explore all possibilities to strengthen cooperation with other organizations, including Clean Air Asia.

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This workshop was conducted as part of the EANET Project Activities in 2022. Find out more about the EANET Project Activities and how to participate in the EANET Project Fund.

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Photo credits: all rights reserved to EANET and Clean Air Asia.

The EANET Emission Inventory Webinar Workshop on Open Biomass Burning – Join us on December 5th!

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

 
1. Background

One of the key sources of particulate matter (PM) pollution in the EANET Participating Countries especially in Southeast Asia, is the open burning of biomass such as agricultural wastes, forests, and municipal wastes.

Open burning of agricultural crop residues is one of the key sources causing severe air pollution. Reducing emissions from agricultural waste burning is among the 25 recommended clean air measures in Air Pollution in the Asia Pacific: Science-Based Solutions (UNEP and CCAC, 2018).

It is essential to understand the current status of emissions from open biomass burning sources to consider effective mitigation ways. The emission inventory is a powerful tool for this purpose. However, methodologies to estimate emissions from open biomass burning are much different from those for other anthropogenic sources.

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2. Objectives and Participants

The objectives of the Emission Inventory Webinar Workshop are to learn basic methodologies to estimate emissions from open biomass burning sources including considerable uncertainties. In addition, application methodologies of the emission inventories to analyze influences of open biomass burning emissions will also be introduced. Furthermore, participants will share short presentations about issues related to open biomass burning in their country, and discussions with experts will be conducted.

Target workshop participants are technical officers, practitioners, and policymakers who are involved in air quality management issues, especially in charge of or interested in developing a national emission inventory.

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3. Agenda and Program

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4. Registration

If you would like to participate in the EANET Emission Inventory Webinar Workshop on Open Biomass Burning, please send the registration form to the Webinar Workshop Secretariat (eiwws2022@acap.asia).

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For further inquiries, contact the Network Center for the EANET.

The 13th International Workshop on Atmospheric Modeling Research in East Asia – Join us on December 22nd-23rd!

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine
1. Background

The EANET has developed a close relationship with the community of Model Inter-Comparison Studies for Asia (MICS-Asia) which is a project aiming at improving air quality and climate models not only by enhancing scientific understanding of the atmospheric environment but also by developing a common scientific understanding for policy-making in Asia. The International Workshop on Atmospheric Modeling Research in East Asia is a regular workshop of MICS-Asia which has received support from the EANET throughout the previous Medium Term Plans. Summaries of previous MICS-Asia workshops are available in the Reports of the Session of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) on the EANET.

Air quality models are effective scientific tools to understand the status of the atmospheric environment and evaluate the effects of mitigation measures. However, extensive experience is necessary to utilize air quality models effectively, and participating in workshops led by experienced researchers is a practical way to develop skills and expertise on this matter.

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2. Objectives and Participants

The International Workshop on Atmospheric Modeling Research in East Asia provides capacity-building opportunities for air quality modeling to the EANET. Its goal is to allow participants to become familiar with a methodology to analyze the status of atmospheric environment-related substances, including processes of atmospheric chemistry and physics, using air quality models. In addition, participants will learn from examples of the application of air quality modeling systems to evaluate recent atmospheric environmental problems as well as from the latest information on air quality modeling systems including settings and model configuration.

This workshop targets participants from the EANET Participating Countries who are experts in air quality modeling and are willing to improve their knowledge of air quality models’ implementation and want to learn about the latest information on recent air quality modeling systems. The workshop is also suitable for technical officers, practitioners, and policymakers from the Region who are involved in air quality management issues and interested in utilizing air quality modeling systems.

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3. Agenda and Program

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4. Registration

If you would like to participate in the 13th International Workshop on Atmospheric Modeling Research in East Asia, please fill in and send the registration form to the Workshop’s Secretariat (modelws2022@acap.asia).

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For further inquiries, contact the Network Center for the EANET.

The EANET Emission Inventory Workshop in 2021

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

19 October 2021 – Bangkok, Thailand

The Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP), the Network Center (NC) for the EANET, organized the EANET Emission Inventory Workshop on 18 October 2021, gathering over 50 participants from 9 countries, to develop regional air quality management skills.

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Why are emission inventories important?

To tackle atmospheric environment problems, it is essential to understand the status of air pollutants’ emissions and consider mitigation measures’ effectiveness. The emission inventory is an essential tool to obtain such information and to build appropriate atmospheric environmental policies.

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Figure 1 – extract from the Emission Inventory Workshop presentation introduction slides

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Building Capacity at a Regional Level

The objectives of the EANET Emission Inventory Workshop were to understand the role of an emission inventory in air quality management, obtain general information on an emission inventory, and learn basic knowledge on the development and application of an emission inventory.

For this purpose, invited experts provided five lecture presentations on developing and applying an emission inventory. Furthermore, the participants, selected by the National Focal Points (NFPs) of each EANET Participating Country, delivered short presentations about issues related to national emission inventories in their countries.

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Figure 2 – Presentation of the lectures that took place during the Emission Inventory Workshop, (including experts from the Japan Automobile Research Institute (JARI), the National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan (NIES), and the King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT)).

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Through discussions among lecturers and participants, the event aimed to enhance participants’ knowledge and encourage the development of national emission inventories.

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Ways Forward

In conclusion, participants emphasized the usefulness of such capacity-building activities and noted that it could be interesting, in the future, to focus the workshop’s content on regional specificities.

Participants also highlighted that both technical (such as providing guidelines) and financial aspects are necessary for conducting emission inventory activities. Taking these observations into account, it may be interesting to focus EANET’s future activities on this demand.

Furthermore, the participants pointed out the benefits of sharing emission inventories throughout the EANET region to better understand the atmospheric environment issues and compare methodologies, including emission factors.

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Find out more about technical capacity building by contacting the Network Center.

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Download the Workshop’s outline and key presentations.

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Photo credits: All rights reserved to the EANET.