Fuel characteristics and emissions from biomass burning and land-use change in Nigeria

Nigeria is one of the 13 low-latitude countries that have significant biomass burning activities. Biomass burning occurs in moist savanna, dry forests, and forest plantations. Fires in the forest zone are associated with slash-and-burn agriculture; the areal extent of burning is estimated to be 80% of the natural savanna. In forest plantations, close to 100% of litter is burned. Current estimates of emissions from land-use change are based on a 1976 national study and extrapolations from it. The following non-carbon dioxide (CO₂) trace gas emissions were calculated from savanna burning: methane (CH₄), 145 gigagrams (Gg); carbon monoxide (CO), 3831 Gg; nitrous oxide (N₂O), 2 Gg; and nitrogen oxides (NO_x), 49 Gg. Deforestation rates in forests and woodlands are 300 × 10³ ha (kilohectare, or kha) and 200 × kha per year, respectively. Trace gas emissions from deforestation were estimated to be 300 Gg CH₄, 2.4 Gg N₂O, and 24 Gg NO_x. CO₂ emissions from burning, decay of biomass, and long-term emissions from soil totaled 125 561 Gg. These estimates should be viewed as preliminary, because greenhouse gas emission inventories from burning, deforestation, and land-use change require two components: fuel load and emission factors. Fuel load is dependent on the areal extent of various land uses, and the biomass stocking and some of these data in Nigeria are highly uncertain.     

Availability of disaggregated greenhouse gas emissions from beef cattle production: A systematic review

Agriculture is a significant source of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and beef cattle are particularly emissions intensive. GHG emissions are typically expressed as a carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) ‘carbon footprint’ per unit output. The 100-year Global Warming Potential (GWP₁₀₀) is the most commonly used CO₂e metric, but others have also been proposed, and there is no universal reason to prefer GWP₁₀₀ over alternative metrics. The weightings assigned to non-CO₂ GHGs can differ significantly depending on the metric used, and relying upon a single metric can obscure important differences in the climate impacts of different GHGs. This loss of detail is especially relevant to beef production systems, as the majority of GHG emissions (as conventionally reported) are in the form of methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O), rather than CO₂. This paper presents a systematic literature review of harmonised cradle to farm-gate beef carbon footprints from bottom-up studies on individual or representative systems, collecting the emissions data for each separate GHG, rather than a single CO₂e value. Disaggregated GHG emissions could not be obtained for the majority of studies, highlighting the loss of information resulting from the standard reporting of total GWP₁₀₀ CO₂e alone. Where individual GHG compositions were available, significant variation was found for all gases. A comparison of grass fed and non-grass fed beef production systems was used to illustrate dynamics that are not sufficiently captured through a single CO₂e footprint. Few clear trends emerged between the two dietary groups, but there was a non-significant indication that under GWP₁₀₀ non-grass fed systems generally appear more emissions efficient, but under an alternative metric, the 100-year global temperature potential (GTP₁₀₀), grass-fed beef had lower footprints. Despite recent focus on agricultural emissions, this review concludes there are insufficient data available to fully address important questions regarding the climate impacts of agricultural production, and calls for researchers to include separate GHG emissions in addition to aggregated CO₂e footprints.     

Estimation of green house gas emissions from Koteshwar hydropower reservoir,India

The emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) from soils are of significant importance for global warming. The biological and physico-chemical characteristics of soil affect the GHG emissions from soils of different land use types. Methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and carbon dioxide (CO₂) production rates from six forest and agricultural soil types in the Koteshwar hydropower reservoir catchments located in the Uttarakhand, India, were estimated and their relations with physico-chemical characteristics of soils were examined. The samples of different land use types were flooded and incubated under anaerobic condition at 30 °C for 60 days. The cumulative GHG production rates in reservoir catchment are found as 1.52 ± 0.26, 0.13 ± 0.02, and 0.0004 ± 0.0001 μg g soil^?1 day^?1 for CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O, respectively, which is lower than global reservoirs located in the same eco-region. The significant positive correlation between CO₂ productions and labile organic carbon (LOC), CH₄ and C/N ratio, while N₂O and N/P ratio, while pH of soils is negatively correlated, conforms their key role in GHG emissions. Carbon available as LOC in the reservoir catchment is found as 3–14% of the total ?C” available in soils and 0–23% is retained in the soil after the completion of incubation. The key objective of this study to signify the C, N, and P ratios, LOC, and pH with GHG production rate by creating an incubation experiment (as in the case of benthic soil/sediment) in the lab for 60 days. In summary, the results suggest that carbon, as LOC were more sensitive indicators for CO₂ emissions and significant C, N, and P ratios, affects the GHG emissions. This study is useful for the hydropower industry to know the GHG production rates after the construction of reservoir so that its effect could be minimized by taking care of catchment area treatment plan.     

The Kyoto Protocol and non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases and Carbon Sinks

Many trace constituents other than carbon dioxide affect the radiative budget of the atmosphere. The existing international agreement to limit greenhouse gases, the Kyoto Protocol, includes carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) and credit for some carbon sinks. We investigate technological options for reducing emissions of these gases and the economic implications of including other greenhouse gases and sinks in the climate change control policy. We conduct an integreated assessment of costs using the MIT Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model combined with estimates of abatement costs for non-CO₂ greenhouse gases and sinks. We find that failure to take advantage of the other gas and sink flexibility would nearly double aggregate Annex B costs. Including all the GHGs and sinks is actually cheaper than if only CO₂ had been included in the Protocol and their inclusion achieves greater overall abatement. There remains considerable uncertainty in these estimates, the magnitude of the savings depends heavily on reference projections of emissions, for example, but these uncertainties do not change the overall conclusion that non-CO₂ GHGs are an important part of a climate control policy.     

A comparison of emission calculations using different modeled indicators with 1-year online measurements

The overall measurement of farm level greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in dairy production is not feasible, from either an engineering or administrative point of view. Instead, computational model systems are used to generate emission inventories, demanding a validation by measurement data. This paper tests the GHG calculation of the dairy farm-level optimization model DAIRYDYN, including methane (CH₄) from enteric fermentation and managed manure. The model involves four emission calculation procedures (indicators), differing in the aggregation level of relevant input variables. The corresponding emission factors used by the indicators range from default per cow (activity level) emissions up to emission factors based on feed intake, manure amount, and milk production intensity. For validation of the CH₄ accounting of the model, 1-year CH₄ measurements of an experimental free-stall dairy farm in Germany are compared to model simulation results. An advantage of this interdisciplinary study is given by the correspondence of the model parameterization and simulation horizon with the experimental farm’s characteristics and measurement period. The results clarify that modeled emission inventories (2,898, 4,637, 4,247, and 3,600 kg CO₂-eq. cow^?1 year^?1) lead to more or less good approximations of online measurements (average 3,845 kg CO₂-eq. cow^?1 year^?1 (±275 owing to manure management)) depending on the indicator utilized. The more farm-specific characteristics are used by the GHG indicator; the lower is the bias of the modeled emissions. Results underline that an accurate emission calculation procedure should capture differences in energy intake, owing to milk production intensity as well as manure storage time. Despite the differences between indicator estimates, the deviation of modeled GHGs using detailed indicators in DAIRYDYN from on-farm measurements is relatively low (between ?6.4 % and 10.5 %), compared with findings from the literature.     

Greenhouse gas emissions from two hydroelectric reservoirs in Mediterranean region

Water reservoirs are used for many purposes, such as water supply, irrigation, flood mitigation, and hydroelectric energy generation. Although hydroelectric energy is considered “green,” many studies show that the construction of a reservoir enhances greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the transformed area. These emissions, mainly of CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O gases, depend on the age of the reservoir, landscape and soil composition, fauna and flora remnants of the impounded area, climatic conditions, and basin runoffs. Consequently, GHG emissions significantly vary between reservoirs and depending on local specificities. Several studies have investigated GHG emissions from reservoirs around the world, focusing mainly on reservoirs located in cold regions, temperate regions, and tropical regions. Research is lacking for reservoirs in Mediterranean countries, like Greece, and similar regions. This work initially assesses the net GHG emissions of a newly created reservoir (Ilarion est. 2012) in Western Macedonia, Greece. The methodology for net GHG emission calculation was based on the use of literature data concerning pre-impoundment emission factors and local specificities of the reservoir (terrain type, canopy cover), as well as on the 2-year measurement data that were collected using a “static floating chamber.” Furthermore, in this work, the gross GHG emissions of an older, in-line reservoir (Polyfytos est. 1974) were also calculated, based on 2-year measurement data. The results show that the global warming potential (GWP) of the reservoirs is dictated by methane emissions; it minimizes during winter and spring and maximizes during summer and autumn. Hydroelectric energy production at Ilarion Reservoir results in 32 to 97 times less total CO₂ equivalent emissions in comparison to fossil fuels, while at Polyfytos Reservoir only 8 to 24 times less (based on gross emissions). It appears that the impact of a reservoir’s morphology on GHG emissions is more significant than that of a reservoir’s age.     

CH4 and CO emissions from rice straw burning in South East Asia

Atmospheric samples collected during rice straw burning at four different locations in Viet-Nam during the dry (March 1992, February 1993) and wet season (August 1992) were analysed for CO₂, CO, and CH₄. The emission ratios relative to CO₂ for CO and CH₄ for rice straw burning during the dry season were comparable to those observed on samples collected during burning of savanna in Africa or forest in the USA. During the wet season, however the emission ratios for CO and CH₄ relative to CO₂ were 3 to 10 times higher. With these emission ratios and estimates of rice production from Southeastern Asia, we estimated that burning of rice straw emits annually about 2.2 Tmol of CO (26 TgC) and 0.2 Tmol of CH₄ (2.4 TgC) to the atmosphere. Taking into account these new results, CO and CH₄ fluxes from biomass burning could be reevaluated by 5–21% and 5–24%, respectively, in respect with previous estimates of these gas emissions from all biomass burning activities.     

Emissions of greenhouse gases from agriculture,land-use change,and forestry in the Gambia

The Gambia has successfully completed a national greenhouse gas emissions inventory based on the results of a study funded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/Global Environment Facility (GEF) Country Case Study Program. The concepts of multisectoral, multidisciplinary, and interdisciplinary collaboration were most useful in the preparation of this inventory. New data were gathered during the study period, some through regional collaboration with institutions such as Environment and Development in the Third World (ENDA-TM) Energy Program and the Ecological Monitoring Center in Dakar, Senegal, and some through national surveys and the use of remote sensing techniques, as in the Bushfires Survey. Most of the data collected are used in this paper. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change/Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/International Energy Agency (IPCC/OECD/IEA) methodology is used to calculate greenhouse gas emissions. Many of the default data in the IPCC/OECD/IEA methodology have also been used. Overall results indicate that in the biomass sectors (agriculture, forestry, and land-use change) carbon dioxide (CO₂) is emitted most, with a total of 1.7 Tg. This is followed by methane (CH₄), 22.3 Gg; carbon monoxide (CO), 18.7 Gg; nitrogen oxides (NO_x), 0.3 Gg; and nitrous oxide (N₂O), 0.014 Gg. The Global Warming Potential (GWP) was used as an index to describe the relative effects of the various gases reported here. Based on the emissions in The Gambia in 1993, it was found that CO₂ will contribute 75%, CH₄ about 24.5%, and N₂O 0.2% of the warming expected in the 100-year period beginning in 1993. The results in this analysis are limited by the shortcomings of the IPCC/OECD/IEA methodology and scarce national data. Because the methodology was developed outside of the developing world, most of its emissions factors and coefficients were developed and tested in environments that are very different from The Gambia. This is likely to introduce some uncertainties into the results of the calculations. Factors and coefficients that are country-or region-specific are likely to provide more accurate results and should be developed. The surveys were conducted either during the wet season or just at the end of the wet season. This seasonal factor should contribute to variations in the results, particularly in the livestock numbers and composition survey. Use of one-time survey data is also likely to introduce uncertainty into the results.     

Long-term spatiotemporal patterns of CH4 and N2O emissions from livestock and poultry production in Turkey

This study quantified spatiotemporal patterns of CH₄ and N₂O emissions from livestock and poultry production in Turkey between 1961 and 2007. CH_4(enteric) (from enteric fermentation), CH_4(manure) (from manure management), and N₂O_(AWM) (from animal waste management) emissions in Turkey were estimated at 1,164, 216, and 55 Gg in 1961 and decreased to 844, 187, and 39 Gg in 2007, contributing a share of roughly 2% to the global livestock-related CH₄ emissions and %1.5 to the global N₂O_(AWM) emissions, respectively. Total CO₂-eq emissions were estimated at 50.7 Tg in 1961 and declined from a maximum value of 60.7 Tg in 1982 to a minimum value of 34.5 Tg in 2003, with a mean emission rate of 48 Tg year^???1 due to a significant reduction in the number of ruminant livestock. The highest mean share of emissions belonged to West Black Sea (14% and 16%) for CH_4(enteric) and CH_4(manure) and to North East Anatolia (12% and %13) for N₂O_(AWM) and total CO₂-eq emissions, respectively. The highest emission density was 1.7 Mg km^???2 year^???1 for CH_4(enteric), 0.3 Mg km^???2 year^???1 for CH_4(manure), and 0.07 Mg km^???2 year^???1 for the total CO₂-eq emissions in the West and North East Anatolia regions and 0.09 Mg km^???2 year^???1 for N₂O_(AWM) in the East Marmara region. Temporal and spatial variations in CH_4(enteric), CH_4(manure), and N₂O_(AWM) emissions in Turkey were estimated using regression models and ordinary kriging at a 500-m resolution, respectively.     

Greenhouse gas emissions from forestry,land-use changes,and agriculture in Tanzania

The purpose of the study was to identify and quantify anthropogenic sources and sinks of greenhouse gases from forestry, land-use changes and agriculture in Tanzania. The 1990 inventory revealed that, in the land-use sector, methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) are the primary gases emitted. Enteric fermentation in livestock production systems is the largest source of CH₄. Although deforestation results in greenhouse gas emissions, the managed forests of Tanzania are a major CO₂ sink.     

Empirical gas emission and oxidation measurement at cover soil of dumping site: example from Malaysia

Methane (CH₄) is one of the most relevant greenhouse gases and it has a global warming potential 25 times greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO₂), risking human health and the environment. Microbial CH₄ oxidation in landfill cover soils may constitute a means of controlling CH₄ emissions. The study was intended to quantify CH₄ and CO₂ emissions rates at the Sungai Sedu open dumping landfill during the dry season, characterize their spatial and temporal variations, and measure the CH₄ oxidation associated with the landfill cover soil using a homemade static flux chamber. Concentrations of the gases were analyzed by a Micro-GC CP-4900. Two methods, kriging values and inverse distance weighting (IDW), were found almost identical. The findings of the proposed method show that the ratio of CH₄ to CO₂ emissions was 25.4 %, indicating higher CO₂ emissions than CH₄ emissions. Also, the average CH₄ oxidation in the landfill cover soil was 52.5 %. The CH₄ and CO₂ emissions did not show fixed-pattern temporal variation based on daytime measurements. Statistically, a negative relationship was found between CH₄ emissions and oxidation (R ²?=?0.46). It can be concluded that the variation in the CH₄ oxidation was mainly attributed to the properties of the landfill cover soil.     

Anthropogenic emissions of methane and nitrous oxide in the Federal Republic of Germany

The anthropogenic emission sources of methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) in the Federal Republic of Germany were investigated. The object of the recently completed first phase of this research project was to summarize the present knowledge about the emission sources, make a first rough estimate of the emissions, identify the need for further research in the field, and - as far as possible - discuss the existing possibilities to reduce emissions. The main CH₄ emission sources identified are the landfills, stock farming and pit mining, the main N₂O sources are agriculture (including a minor contribution from animal wastes) and the production of adipic acid, the latter possibly being reducible by means of a new catalytic process. The total anthropogenic emissions of CH₄ from Germany are estimated at 5.4 – 7.7 million tonnes per year, contributing a share of roughly 2 % to the world-wide anthropogenic emissions (350 million t/a). Those of N₂O are estimated at 200 000 – 280 000 tonnes per year (world-wide 1.4 – 6.5 million t/a).     

北京市废弃物处理温室气体排放特征

基于《2006年IPCC国家温室气体清单指南》推荐的方法,结合《省级温室气体清单编制指南（试行）》和《城市温室气体核算工具指南》的部分数据与核算范围,针对固体废弃物填埋、焚烧和废水处理等过程,核算了北京市2005-2014年废弃物处理过程中温室气体总排放量。结果表明：2005-2014年北京市废弃物处理过程温室气体总排放量呈逐渐上升趋势,2014年温室气体总排放量比2005年增长98%。10年间,固体废弃物填埋过程一直是最主要的温室气体排放源,到2014年排放量达到最大,为416.3×10⁴t二氧化碳当量（CO₂e）。废弃物填埋、废水处理和废弃物焚烧过程占总排放量的比例分别为78.5%（CO₂e质量分数,下同）、13.5%和8%。结合已有研究,系统优化国内7个典型城市废弃物处理温室气体排放因子,核算7个城市排放情况,并对比分析了北京市排放情况。     

Inter-seasonal and spatial distribution of ground-level greenhouse gases (CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>, CH<Subscript>4</Subscript>, N<Subscript>2</Subscript>O) over Nagpur in India and their management roadmap

Ground-level concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O) were monitored over three seasons, i.e., post-monsoon (September–October), winter (January–February), and summer (May–June) for 1 year during 2013–2014 in Nagpur City in India. The selected gases had moderate to high variation both spatially (residential, commercial, traffic intersections, residential cum commercial sites) and temporally (at 7:00, 13:00, 18:00, and 23:00 hours in all three seasons). Concentrations of gases were randomly distributed diurnally over city in all seasons, and there was no specific increasing or decreasing trend with time in a day. Average CO₂ and N₂O concentrations in winter were higher over post-monsoon and summer while CH₄ had highest average concentration in summer. Observed concentrations of CO₂ were predominantly above global average of 400 ppmv while N₂O and CH₄ concentrations frequently dropped down below global average of 327 ppbv and 1.8 ppmv, respectively. Two-tailed Student’s t test indicated that post-monsoon CO₂ concentrations were statistically different from summer but not so from winter, while difference between summer and winter concentrations was statistically significant (P < 0.05). CH₄ concentrations in all seasons were statistically at par to each other. In case of N₂O, concentrations in post-monsoon were statistically different from summer but not so from winter, while difference between summer and winter concentrations was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Average ground-level concentrations of the gases calculated for three seasons together were higher in commercial areas. Environmental management priorities vis a vis greenhouse gas emissions in the city are also discussed.     

Marginal Abatement Costs and Marginal Welfare Costs for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions: Results from the EPPA Model

Marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves, relationships between tonnes of emissions abated and the CO₂ (or greenhouse gas (GHG)) price, have been widely used as pedagogic devices to illustrate simple economic concepts such as the benefits of emissions trading. They have also been used to produce reduced-form models to examine situations where solving the more complex model underlying the MAC is difficult. Some important issues arise in such applications: (1) Are MAC relationships independent of what happens in other regions?, (2) are MACs stable through time regardless of what policies have been implemented in the past?, and (3) can one approximate welfare costs from MACs? This paper explores the basic characteristics of MAC and marginal welfare cost (MWC) curves, deriving them using the MIT Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis model. We find that, depending on the method used to construct them, MACs are affected by policies abroad. They are also dependent on policies in place in the past and depend on whether they are CO₂-only or include all GHGs. Further, we find that MACs are, in general, not closely related to MWCs and therefore should not be used to derive estimates of welfare change. We also show that, as commonly constructed, MACs may be unreliable in replicating results of the parent model when used to simulate GHG policies. This is especially true if the policy simulations differ from the conditions under which the MACs were simulated.     

Assessment of methane emission and oxidation at Air Hitam Landfill site cover soil in wet tropical climate

Methane (CH₄) emissions and oxidation were measured at the Air Hitam sanitary landfill in Malaysia and were modeled using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change waste model to estimate the CH₄ generation rate constant, k. The emissions were measured at several locations using a fabricated static flux chamber. A combination of gas concentrations in soil profiles and surface CH₄ and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions at four monitoring locations were used to estimate the CH₄ oxidation capacity. The temporal variations in CH₄ and CO₂ emissions were also investigated in this study. Geospatial means using point kriging and inverse distance weight (IDW), as well as arithmetic and geometric means, were used to estimate total CH₄ emissions. The point kriging, IDW, and arithmetic means were almost identical and were two times higher than the geometric mean. The CH₄ emission geospatial means estimated using the kriging and IDW methods were 30.81 and 30.49 g m^?2 day^?1, respectively. The total CH₄ emissions from the studied area were 53.8 kg day^?1. The mean of the CH₄ oxidation capacity was 27.5 %. The estimated value of k is 0.138 year^?1. Special consideration must be given to the CH₄ oxidation in the wet tropical climate for enhancing CH₄ emission reduction.     

National GHG inventories: Recent developments under the IPCC/OECD Joint Programme

This paper summarises key results of the Joint IPCC/OECD Programme, in particular the draft IPCC Guidelines for National GHG Inventories to be released in January 1994. The focus is on how these results are likely to improve the availability and the quality of national inventories of anthropogenic GHG emission sources and removals by sinks. The IPCC/OECD has already received nearly 50 inventories from 35 countries. Most of the data are for 1988, but some reports cover 1989 and 1990. In addition to CO₂, many of these inventories include CH₄, N₂O, NOx, CO, and NMVOC. Detailed analyses of these inventories have provided valuable insights about the strengths and weaknesses of the national inventories, differences in approach to estimation, reporting, available methods and data. These results in turn, have facilitated the development of the draft Guidelines, most notably the proposed reporting system, and also on estimation methods for the different anthropogenic sources and sinks of GHG. The paper previews key aspects of the draft Guidelines for non-CO₂ GHG. Experts are urged to actively participate in the IPCC/OECD Programme to continue to improve inventory methods and overall the Guidelines.The views presented in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the OECD or their Member countries.     

A dynamic analysis of the global warming potential associated with air conditioning at a city scale: an empirical study in Shenzhen,China

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are a major source of energy consumption in buildings, directly and indirectly contributing to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the urban environment, and depending on local climatic conditions, air conditioning units attribute to these high energy demands. This study analyzes the use of residential air conditioning units and their associated global warming potential (GWP) between 2005 and 2030 for the city of Shenzhen, a fast-growing megacity located in Southern China. A life cycle assessment approach was adopted to quantify the GWP impacts which arise from both direct (refrigerant release) and indirect (energy consumption) sources, in combination with a materials flow analysis approach. The results show that the total GWP (expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents, CO₂ eq.) from residential air conditioning systems increased from 2.2 ± 0.2 to 5.1 ± 0.4 million tonnes (Mt) CO₂ eq. between 2005 and 2017, with energy consumption and refrigerant release contributing to 72.5% and 27.5% of the total demands, respectively. Immediate measures are required to restrict refrigerant release and reduce the energy consumption of air conditioning units, to help mitigate the predicted additional total emissions of 36.4 Mt. CO₂ eq. potentially released between 2018 and 2030. This amount equals to approximately New Zealand's national CO₂ emissions in 2017. The findings proposed in this study targets air conditioning units to reduce the GWP emissions in cities, and provide useful data references and insights for local authorities to incentivise measures for improving building energy efficiency management and performance.     

Development of Spatial and Temporal Emission Inventory for Crop Residue Field Burning

Accurate emission inventory (EI) is the foremost requirement for air quality management. Specifically, air quality modeling requires EI with adequate spatial and temporal distributions. The development of such EI is always challenging, especially for sporadic emission sources such as biomass open burning. The country of Thailand produces a large amount of various crops annually, of which rough (unmilled) rice alone accounted for over 30 million tonnes in 2007. The crop residues are normally burned in the field that generates large emissions of air pollutants and climate forcers. We present here an attempt at a multipollutant EI for crop residue field burning in Thailand. Available country-specific and regional primary data were thoroughly scrutinized to select the most realistic values for the best, low and high emission estimates. In the base year of 2007, the best emission estimates in Gigagrams were as follows: particulate matter as PM_2.5, 128; particulate matter as PM₁₀, 143; sulfur dioxide (SO₂), 4; carbon dioxide (CO₂), 21,400; carbon monoxide (CO), 1,453; oxides of nitrogen (NO_x), 42; ammonia (NH₃), 59; methane (CH₄), 132; non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), 108; elemental carbon (EC), 10; and organic carbon (OC), 54. Rice straw burning was by far the largest contributor to the total emissions, especially during the dry season and in the central part of the country. Only a limited number of EIs for crop residue open burning were reported for Thailand but with significant discrepancies. Our best estimates were comparable but generally higher than other studies. Analysis for emission uncertainty, taking into account possible variations in activity data and emission factors, shows considerable gaps between low and high estimates. The difference between the low and high EI estimates for particulate matter and for particulate EC and OC varied between −80% and +80% while those for CO₂ and CO varied between −60% and +230%. Further, the crop production data of Thailand were used as a proxy to disaggregate the emissions to obtain spatial (76 provinces) and temporal (monthly) distribution. The provincial emissions were also disaggregated on a 0.1° × 0.1° grid net and to hourly profiles that can be directly used for dispersion modeling.