Climate change mitigation strategy report

Summary

The requester asked for an explanation of the 'Other' category in greenhouse gas emissions data and access to the full Aether Ltd report or alternative reports since 2015. The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture explained that 'Other' is an aggregate of sources like aviation and fluorinated gases, and provided four redacted inventory documents covering 1990-2016 instead of a full unredacted report.

Key Facts

• The 'Other' emissions category is calculated by subtracting known sources (land use, transport, electricity, buildings) from the total emissions figure.
• 'Other' includes contributions from aviation, fluorinated gases in refrigeration and air conditioning, firefighting, aerosols, electrical substations, and Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6) used in sports shoe manufacturing.
• The Government has not commissioned any new reports on greenhouse gas emissions since 2015, but annual data is collated and sent to Aether Limited for inventory production.
• The inventory production process takes two years, meaning the latest data received in March 2018 covers emissions from 1990 to 2016.
• Historic emission figures may change slightly in future inventories due to continuous improvements in understanding emission sources and sinks.

Data Disclosed

• 2018-04-06
• 2018-04-23
• 2015
• 1990
• 2016
• 2014
• 2013
• 4-fold increase
• rows 31 - 38
• rows 60 - 74
• rows 96 - 100
• rows 18 – 26
• rows 49 -56
• rows 85 – 92
• rows 8, 39 and 75
• rows 29, 59 and 95
• 4 documents
• 2 years

Original Request

In the Climate Challenge Mitigation Strategy ( https://www.gov.im/media/1351764/mitigation-addressing-our-climate-challenges.pdf ) there is a graph for the Island's greenhouse gas emissions, based on data supplied by Aether Ltd. The graph shows an approximate four-fold increase in "Other" as a cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Does the report from Aether Ltd explain what "Other" represents? Could I see the full report provided by Aether Ltd? If it is not possible to see the full report from Aether Ltd, or to break down "Other", are there any other reports since 2015 that the Government has commissioned on the Island's greenhouse gas emissions? If so, is it possible to see any such report in full? Thank you

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator Corporate Services Directorate Thie Slieau Whallian, Foxdale Road, St John’s, Isle of Man, IM4 3AS Tel no (01624) 685854 Fax no (01624 685851 Email: defa@gov.im www.gov.im

Our ref: 419435 23rd April 2018

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 6 April 2018 and which states:

"In the Climate Challenge Mitigation Strategy ( https://www.gov.im/media/1351764/mitigation- addressing-our-climate-challenges.pdf ) there is a graph for the Island's greenhouse gas emissions, based on data supplied by Aether Ltd. The graph shows an approximate four-fold increase in "Other" as a cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Does the report from Aether Ltd explain what "Other" represents? Could I see the full report provided by Aether Ltd? If it is not possible to see the full report from Aether Ltd, or to break down "Other", are there any other reports since 2015 that the Government has commissioned on the Island's greenhouse gas emissions? If so, is it possible to see any such report in full? Thank you"

Response In Figure 1, page 6, of the strategy document the category ‘other’ was calculated by subtracting emissions in a particular year from; land use practices (rows 31 - 38, 60 - 74 and 96 - 100), surface transport (rows 18 – 26, 49 -56 and 85 – 92), on island generation of electricity (rows 8, 39 and 75) and buildings (rows 29, 59 and 95) from the total emissions figure for that year. ‘Other’ is an aggregate of all the contributions from many sources such as aviation and fluorinated gasses used in refrigeration, air conditioning, firefighting, aerosols, electrical substations and a proportion of the gas Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6) that goes into the manufacture of the foam sole of sports shoes. While Government has not commissioned any other reports on greenhouse gas emissions since 2015, each year data is collated by this Department and forwarded to Aether Limited so that they can produce the latest inventory. Further inventories for the years 2014 – 2016 are attached. The process for producing an inventory takes 2 years, which is why the latest data received in March this year is for emissions from 1990 to 2016. Due to the process of continuous improvement employed by Aether Limited, some of the historic figures may change slightly with the publication of each new inventory. This reflects improvements in the understanding of how emissions are released from sources such as land use practices i.e. landfill and rearing of animals, and are absorbed by sinks such as forests and peatland. The four documents attached are: 1. Aether IsleofMan GHGI1990-2013 Redacted 2. Aether IsleofMan GHGI1990-2013 Redacted 3. Aether IsleofMan GHGI1990-2013 Redacted 4. Aether IsleofMan GHGI1990-2013 Redacted Please quote the reference number 419435 in any future communications.

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Yours sincerely

Frank Harrison Freedom of Information