Air emissions

National statistical institute

'Environmental and Energy Accounts'

Rosen Yordanov

Daniela Montolova-Vlaskovska

State Expert

State Expert

2 Panayot Volov St., 1038 Sofia

[email protected]

[email protected]

+359 2 9857 761

+359 2 9857 436

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Data on emissions of Sulphur oxides (SOx), Nitrogen oxides (NOx), Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), Carbon monoxide (CO), Ammonia (NH₃), dust particles - Particulate matter to 10µm (PM10), Particulate matter to 2.5µm (PM2.5), Carbon dioxide CO₂, Methane (CH₄), Nitrous oxide (N₂O) are based on data from the statistical survey ‘Air emissions’, conducted by the National Statistical Institute, and data from the National Inventories of Emissions of Harmful Substances and Greenhouse Gases, prepared and reported by the Executive Environment Agency the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Emissions of harmful substances are determined by a calculation method based on data from the statistical survey, based on the following indicators: fuel consumed, calorific value, quantity of produced products, raw materials used, purification facilities/measures to reduce emissions, as well as emission factors for the relevant pollutants. Data on Carbon dioxide CO2, Methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are taken from the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

-          Statistical Classification of Economic Activities NACE Rev.2.

-          Unified Classifier of Administrative-Territorial and Territorial Units (EKATTE).

-          Nomenclature of air emission sources corresponding to SNAP codes from EMEP/EEA air pollutant emission inventory manual.

-          Nomenclature of fuels.

-          Nomenclature of the treatment facilities and air protection measures.

The statistical survey covers enterprises of economic activities whose operation is related to the formation of emissions.

'Emission' is the release of harmful substances (pollutants) into the air. The point or surface from which the release occurs is called the source.

Definitions are used in accordance with the applicable legislation - the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

A statistical unit is an enterprise or a local unit which activity related to the formation of air emissions.

The statistical population consists of active enterprises and local units, an integral part of which activity are:

-     energy production processes (covered by the consumed fuels);

-     processes in the production of other products (covered by the produced products, consumed raw materials etc.).

Total for the country.

Since 1992

Not applicable.

thousands of tons and tons

Calendar year

-        Regulation (EC) No. 223/2009 on European statistics

-        Convention on long-range transboundary air pollution

-        United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

-        Statistics Act

-        Ordinance on the order and manner of organizing national inventories of emissions of harmful substances and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (only in Bulgarian)

     Agreements:

     Agreements between the National Statistical Institute and the Ministry of Environment and Water for cooperation and exchange of information from 2003 and 2010.

The data emissions are provided annually to the Executive Environment Agency for the preparation and reporting of the National Inventories of emissions, in accordance with the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics provides for the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and access to such confidential data, with due regard to technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.

The Statistics Act (Article 25, paragraph 1) stipulates that individual data received and collected in statistical surveys are statistical secrets and may be used only for statistical purposes. 

Individual data are not disclosed or provided according to Art. 25 of the Statistics Act. The provision of individual data is possible only according to Art. 26 of the Statistics Act.

The date for publication of the statistical information is indicated in the Calendar for the dissemination of the results of the statistical surveys of the NSI.

The calendar is available on the NSI website.

Data on air emissions are published on the NSI website in the 'Environment' section  in accordance with the Statistics Act and the European Statistical Code of Practice, respecting professional independence and aiming at objectivity and transparency, whereby all users are on an equal footing.

Annual

Regular press release on the NSI website.

-  Statistical Yearbook.

-  Statistical Reference Book.

-  Electronic Publication 'Environment'.

-  Brochure 'Bulgaria'.

   Air emission are available:

  -   on NSI website ‘Environment’ section

  -   INFOSTAT information system

Individual anonymized data may be provided for scientific and research purposes, in accordance with the Regulations for the Provision of Anonymized Individual Data for Scientific and Research Purposes of the NSI.

Information service on request, according to the Rules for Dissemination of Statistical Products and Services.

-       The EMEP/EEA air pollutant emission inventory manual.

-       Environmental statistics and accounts guideline, NSI.

-       European Code of Statistical Practice.

-       Integrated management system in the NSI.

-       General model of the statistical production process in NSI.

-       Guidelines for internal audits on the quality of statistical processes and products in the National statistical institute.

-       Environmental statistics and accounts guideline, NSI.

    Quality report is prepared annually according to a European model and is reported together with the statistical data.

The quality of the data is ensured by applying the principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice and the Common Framework for Quality Management in the National Statistical System (NSS), including through the application of the internal methodology 'Statistics and Environmental Accounts', developed by the NSI.

The quality assurance activities guarantee compliance with the requirements of the Statistics Act in terms of quality criteria: adequacy, accuracy, timeliness, punctuality, accessibility and clarity, comparability and logical coherence. They also ensure the application of the principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice: sound methodology; appropriate statistical procedures; moderate burden on respondents; cost-effectiveness; applicability; accuracy; timeliness and accuracy of presentation; comparability and coherence; accessibility and clarity.

Quality assessment is carried out at each stage of the statistical production process, in accordance with the Common Framework for Quality Management in the NSS and the principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice. It includes statistical processes and statistical information. The requirements of the current methodological documents, including the instructions in the internal methodology Statistics and Accounts in the Environment, developed by the NSI, are applied for quality assessment.

To assess the quality of the data, their consistency with the data from the energy statistics on the production and consumption of energy products and with the data on industrial production from the report on the production and sales of industrial products (PRODCOM) is checked. In order to ensure the quality of the data, work is also being done to continuously improve the online-based information system for collecting primary data, providing the possibility of arithmetic and logical control of the input data, and additional analyses and checks are being.

Air emissions data are essential for studying the interaction between the economy and the environment, in particular in the context of climate change.

The main users of the statistical information are state and municipal structures, scientific institutes, associations, companies and citizens.

The NSI conducts a regular statistical survey ‘User Satisfaction with the Statistical Information Products and Services Provided’, which covers all statistical areas. It aims to assess user satisfaction with the statistical information provided by the NSI and to define recommendations for the future development of the statistical system in accordance with user needs.

The data meet the requirements of applicable legislation in terms of scope and monitored indicators.

Data accuracy, as one of the criteria for the quality of statistical information, according to the Statistics Act, is guaranteed through quality assurance activities within the statistical production process.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The data are published 16 months after the reporting year.

The data are published according to the deadlines in the Calendar for the dissemination of the results of the statistical surveys of the NSI

The data are compiled at the national level. Given the application of common definitions and classifications, the data are comparable with other EU countries.

The data are comparable over time. Time series are available from 1992 (from 2011 in INFOSAT). When the methodology changes, the data in the time series are revised.

The data are coherent with:

-        National Inventory of Emissions of Harmful Substances and National Inventory of Greenhouse Gases;

-        Data from energy and business statistics.

Classification is applied according to the NACE rev.2, which allows for joint analysis with national accounts data.

The data have a high degree of internal consistency. The quality assessment procedure checks the consistency of the primary and statistical data by pollutants and economic activities, of aggregated and detailed data.

The costs (budget) for statistical surveys are disclosed in the National Statistical Program, published on the NSI website.

Reducing the burden on respondents is a priority in conducting statistical surveys. In this regard, actions are being taken to alleviate the burden, for example: collecting and checking primary data through the online-based information system ‘Environmental Statistics’, containing strict arithmetic and logical controls; improving the instructions for filling in survey forms; providing methodological and technical assistance; continuously exploring the possibilities for using information from administrative and other sources; conducting annual training for respondents and NSI experts, etc.

The time needed to fill in the statistical forms is used as the main measure of the burden on respondents. For this purpose, a section is included in each form that respondents must fill in, regarding the time needed to fill in the form (including the time for data preparation). Based on this information and given the specifics of the study, the workload of the respondents can be determined as relatively high. The overall workload of the responsible experts is determined as high, especially in cases of revisions of data from previous reporting periods.

In accordance with the principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice and the requirements of internal rules/integrated management system, statistical processes are regularly monitored and revised as necessary. Revisions are carried out according to standard, established and transparent procedures and regularly analyzed with the aim of improving data sources, statistical processes and products.

The data is revised upon change in regulatory requirements, the applied methodology, or when necessary.

-        Statistical survey 'Air Emission';

-        Administrative sources (MOEW, ExEA, etc.).

    Information from other statistical surveys (energy statistics, business statistics, etc.) is also used to define the general population, verify the data, and make estimates.

Annual

From the respondents, according to their activities, data is collected for:

-          The power and type of heat and electricity production facilities, the amount and type of fuel used, incl. physic-chemical parameters of the fuel (net calorific value, content of sulfur, carbon, and ash);

-          The amount of fuel used and the output produced - in the combustion processes in the industry and energy transformation;

-          The amount of production from the petroleum industry, metallurgy, chemical industry, paper-pulp, food and mineral industry (lime, cement, glass production);

-     The quantity of extracted fuels (coal, crude oil, and natural gas) in the extraction of fossil fuels;

-     Amount of gasoline, LPG and natural gas distributed (petrol stations, gas stations, etc.);

-     Amount of materials used (solvents, paints, inks, adhesives, reagents) in the processes of painting, degreasing, dry cleaning, production and processing of chemical products, printing and impregnation of wood products;

-     The type of technologies used, for example in pulp production, emissions depend on the type of production process, is it Kraft, sulfate or neutral process;

-     Type of treatment facilities.

           An important requirement of the ‘Air Emissions’ survey is that the data should be filled in according to the location of the sources of air emissions, which makes it possible to present them by districts, municipalities, and on geographical map.

Data validation is part of the activities to ensure the quality of statistical information. Primary data are validated in terms of completeness, correct classification, units of measurement, comparability with previous years, comparability with data from other statistical areas and/or administrative sources, logical control, etc.

Statistical data are validated in terms of their comparability, accuracy, reliability, etc., in accordance with the quality criteria according to the Statistics Act.

The data processing is carried out by strictly applying the survey's methodology and data verification methods.

The data processing includes actions by which, based on the primary data, put into an appropriate form, the statistical data are calculated, using specialized software products.

Not applicable.