REPORT 2001
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GUIDELINES FOR OBSERVERS-REPORTERS
Indicator 2: Most Significant Energy-Related Local Pollutant(s)
  Instructions:

Enter the following data:

This calculation depends on the kind of pollutant and the metric chosen. It is recommended that emissions per capita and not an ambient level of, say, ozone or PM10 particulate concentrations in urban areas is measured. One example would be to use SO2 emissions per capita. (Substitute your actual choice of locally significant pollutant.)

  • Country's emissions in 1990: 

    •  
      =                                      million metric tonnes SO2
       
  • Country's emissions this year                                     : 

    •  
      =                                      million metric tonnes SO2.
  • Country's population 1990:

    •  
      =                                     million
  • Country's population this year: 

    •  
      =                                     million.
       
  • Country's 1990 emissions per capita: 

    •  
      =                                     kilograms of SO2 per capita.
       
  • Country's emissions per capita this year                                     :

    •  
      =                                      kilograms of SO2 per capita.
Calculating the vector value:
      =                                      kilograms of SO2 per capita.
       
  • The center, the zero point, equals one-tenth of the 1990 value: 
= Y =           1990 value x 0.1    kg SO2/capita.
  • Hence the 0 to 1 segment equals nine-tenths of the 1990 value:
= Z =            1990 value x 0.9    kg SO2/capita.
Enter the following data:
  • Country's per capita SO2 emissions this year                                     :
= X =                                      kgSO2/capita.
  • One-tenth of country's per capita SO2 emissions 1990:
= Y =                                     kgSO2/capita.
  • Nine-tenths of country's per capita SO2 emissions 1990:
= Z =                                     kgSO2/capita.
Formula: (X - Y) ¸Z.
  • Actual calculation of the vector for year                                 :
      = (                                     - kgSO2/cap)/kgSO2/cap 
       
      =  ___________________
           
  • Optional vector calculation for 1990:

    •  
      = (                                     - kgSO2/cap)/kgSO2/cap
       
      =  ___________________ 
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General Discussion: Most Significant Energy-Related Local Pollutant(s)

Vector:

  • 1 : 1990 level of the selected pollutant per capita
  • 0 : one-tenth of the 1990 per capita level
Selecting the indicator for the most significant local environmental pressure is best done by local Observer-Reporters. Choose a pollutant that strongly impacts local human or environmental health (including impacts on human respiratory, reproductive, and immunity, and on forestry, lakes and rivers, agriculture, domestic animals, fisheries, or infrastructure). Such pollution sources are frequently related to industry, mining, fuel refineries, manufacturing, or electric powerplants. Non-point pollution sources such as vehicles often pose the greatest hazard to health, are often difficult to mitigate, and their emission rates might be a valuable indicator, too.

Observer-Reporters may decide to use ambient air or water pollution concentrations as the standard (as we did in Example #2 below), in which case we recommend changing the vector to 1 = World Health Organisation guideline and 0 = two-tenths WHO guideline for each pollutant. Our example combines and averages two air pollutants (particulates and SO2).

Common energy-related pollutants and their principal impacts include:

  • Sulfur dioxide SO2 (principally from coal-fired powerplants, smelters, and industry) causing acid precipitation;
  • Nitrogen oxides NOx (principally from vehicles and powerplants) causing smog;
  • Ozone O3 (a secondary pollutant formed by nitrogen dioxide and hydrocarbons in sunlight);
    Carbon monoxide (principally from incomplete combustion in motor vehicle engines and boilers);Heavy metals (air or water pollution, principally from mining and powerplants);Particulate air pollutants (principally from fossil-fired powerplants, vehicles, road dust, and industry) causing respiratory diseases;Volatile organic compounds VOCs (principally from gasoline and other fuels, but also of particular concern inside buildings [e.g., from paints, sealants, adhesives]);Uranium, plutonium, and other radio-active substances (principally from uranium mining and processing, nuclear materials transport, fission reactors, and nuclear powerplant accidents or routine leakage, but, in terms of exposure, measured in becquerels, principally natural background radiation and medical x-rays.Lead (principally from leaded fuels for motor vehicles);Indoor air pollution (typically particulates, brown smoke, carbon monoxide from cooking and space heating, primarily from biomass and coal burned indoors).
Urban pollution from vehicles, powerplants, and industry is already horrific in many cities, and is expected to double in the next decade in many urban areas of developing countries, according to the World Health Organisation. Coal use is projected to increase by more than 50%, with most of the increase in developing countries where energy expansion will outpace use of pollution control technology. A useful source of information and references is the World Resources Institute's World Resources 1998-1999, which focuses much of its discussion on environmental and societal health.

A combined index of two or more pollutants may make sense in some countries in order to measure pollutants that impact two or more systems-perhaps one of urban human health significance and another of rural or environmental importance. Observer-Reporters should be sure to select pollutants that are both significant and persistent to ensure validity and long-term tracking for the index. Carefully and completely note the details of such a pollutant combination for future Observer-Reporters, including data sources, your rationale for choosing the combination, and precisely how the indicator and its vector are calculated. If you choose to use ambient pollution concentrations rather than emissions per capita for this indicator, carefully note the details for the SEW Secretariat and future Observer-Reporters.

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Examples:

An example of a single pollutant:
United States 1990: 57.2 kg of SO2 per capita and 1996: 42.8 kg SO2 per capita. The center, the sustainability objective, is one-tenth of 1990 = 5.7 kg SO2 per capita. The 0 to 1 vector value equals 1990 minus one-tenth of 1990 = 57.2 minus 5.7 = 51.5 kg SO2 per capita. The actual vector value for the U.S. in 1996 is therefore the 1996 metric of 42.8 divided by the unit vector of 51.5 = 0.8311. The U.S. reduced its sulfur emissions principally through market-oriented approaches such as tradable emission permits, which reduced emissions faster and at a fraction of the anticipated cost
An example of using ambient pollutant concentrations and of combining two pollutants in one indicator:
China, 1995: combine urban particulate concentrations and urban sulfur dioxide concentrations in Beijing. Change the indicator metric to 1 = 1.0 WHO guideline for each pollutant and 0 = 0.20 of the WHO guideline for each pollutant. WHO guideline for Total Suspended Particulates (TSP) = 50 m gr/m3; SO2 = 60 m gr/m3 (CK, see WRI, p. 117). Ambient levels in Beijing in 1995 for TSP = 377 m gr/m3; and for SO2 = 90 m gr/m3. Hence the zero to one segment for TSP = 10 to 50 m gr/m3 (therefore = 40) and for SO2 = 12 to 60 m gr/m3 (therefore = 48). Beijing's 1995 TSP metric of 377 converts to 377/40 = 9.43. Beijing's 1995 SO2 metric of 90 m gr/m3 converts to 90/48 = 1.88. Giving equal weight to each pollutant measure yields a combined vector of (9.43 + 1.88)/2 = 5.66.
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