Total greenhouse gas emissions in Turkey were 520.9 Mt CO2 equivalent in 2018

Total GHG emissions were 520.9 Mt CO₂ equivalent in 2018

The greenhouse gas inventory results revealed that the overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as CO₂ equivalent (eq.) for the year 2018 compared to the previous year decreased by 0.5% to 520.9 million tonnes (Mt). The energy sector had the largest share of GHG emissions with 71.6%. In 2018, the energy sector was followed by the industrial processes and product use with 12.5%, the agricultural activities with 12.5% and the waste with 3.4%.

Total GHG emissions per capita was 4 tonnes CO₂ eq. in 1990 while it was calculated as 6.5 tonnes CO₂ eq. per capita for 2017 and 6.4 tonnes CO₂ eq. per capita for 2018.

Biggest share in CO₂ emissions was observed in energy sector

85.8% of CO₂ emissions originated from the energy sector when 35.5% of total CO₂ emissions originated from electricity and heat production which is a sub-category of the energy sector. The remaining 13.9% of CO₂ emissions originated from the industrial processes and product use sector and 0.3% from the agriculture and waste sectors in 2018.

63.1% of CH₄ emissions originated from agriculture, 20.3% from waste, 16.6% from the energy and 0.03% from the industrial processes and product use sector, while 70.1% of N₂O emissions originated from the agriculture sector, 15.7% from waste, 9.5% from energy and 4.7% from the industrial processes and product use sector⁽¹⁾.

The energy sector ranks first in emission amounts by sectors

The energy sector emissions were calculated at 373.1 Mt CO₂ eq. in 2018, which increased by 167.3% compared to 1990 while decreased by 1.8% compared to previous year. Emissions from the industrial processes and product use sector increased by 185.5% compared to 1990 and by 2.5% compared to previous year reaching 65.2 Mt CO₂ eq. in 2018.

Agriculture sector emissions were calculated at 64.9 Mt CO₂ eq. in 2018, which increased by 41.5% compared to 1990 and by 3.2% compared to previous year. Similarly, waste sector emissions were calculated at 17.8 Mt CO₂ eq. in 2018, which increased by 60.3% compared to 1990 and by 2.1% compared to previous year.

Top 10 GHG emitting countries

According to global emission data, total emissions were 46 141 Mt CO₂ eq. in 2016. Top 10 GHG emitting countries account for 62.6% of global emissions. Among these countries, China ranked first with 25.8% of emissions ratio, the USA ranked second with 12.8% and India ranked third with 6.7%. Ranking 17th among countries, Turkey’s share of global emissions in 2016 was calculated as 1.0%.

Note: Greenhouse gas emissions for each country given in this comparison were calculated by the World Resources Institute. For some countries (Turkey included) these figures are different from official greenhouse gas emissions data, which are submitted recently under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Turkey’s emissions data for 2016 in this data source are also different from 2016 emissions data given in this press release.
Source: World Resources Institute (2020) CAIT – Historical Emissions Data.

The next release on this subject will be in March 2021
                                                                                                                                                                                             
EXPLANATIONS
The greenhouse gas emission inventory includes direct GHGs as carbondioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrousoxide (N₂O), F-gases, and indirect GHGs as nitrogenoxides (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), carbonmonoxide (CO) and sulphurdioxide (SO₂) emissions originated from energy, industrial processes and product use, agriculture and waste sectors.
(1) Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding.