Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2014 to Question 211199, for what reason a decision was taken not to routinely assess the social costs of air pollution; and if she will now assess the social costs of biomass heat.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
Decisions on evidence needs are taken on a case by case basis taking account of our policy development requirements. In light of this, there are no current plans to investigate the social cost of biomass.
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2014, if she will make an estimate of social costs caused by (a) large particulates (PM10), (b) small particulates (PM2.5) and (c) nitrogen dioxide emitted to air in the UK by (i) domestic biomass generation of heat and (ii) biomass for power generation in the latest year for which figures are available.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given on 9 June 2014, Official Report, column 272W. Social costs caused by air pollution are not routinely assessed. The 2010 Defra report ‘Valuing the impacts of air pollution’ estimated that the overall health impact from anthropogenic PM2.5 is £16bn per year (with a range of £9-19bn). The social costs of biomass heat have been assessed for specific policy development purposes in the past.
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 8 May 2014, Official Report, column 272W, on biofuels: air pollution, for what reasons estimated social costs of biomass emissions of fine particles contained in his Department's Answer of 26 March 2009, Official Report, column 697W, on air pollution, were not reflected in that Answer; and for what reasons his Department no longer estimates the social costs of fine particles emitted by biomass combustion.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The social (health) costs included in the answer of 26 March 2009 were calculated by Defra to evaluate specific scenarios of uptake of biomass heat in 2020. These costs were calculated for policy development purposes in accordance with Treasury Green Book guidance and methodologies developed with the support of the Interdepartmental Group on Costs and Benefits.
Estimates of emissions by source (including biomass emissions) are updated annually and reported in the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory, but social (health) costs by emissions source are not routinely calculated.
Estimates of the health burden due to total anthropogenic fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the UK are calculated as part of the Public Health Outcomes Framework indicator. This is based on modelled annual population weighted mean total anthropogenic PM2.5 levels in the UK.
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the (a) level of world deforestation and (b) growth in world biomass power generation over the last 10 years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
Latest figures, supported by recent publications from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, are that 13 million hectares of the world's forest were converted to other uses or lost through natural causes each year in the last decade (2000–10), including 6 million hectares of primary forests.
Defra does not hold information on the growth in world biomass power generation over the last ten years.
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the social costs caused by (a) large particulates (PM10), (b) small particulates (PM2.5) and (c) nitrogen dioxide emitted to air in the UK by (i) domestic biomass generation of heat and (ii) biomass for power generation in the latest year for which figures are available.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
Defra has not made any direct assessment of such social costs.
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the amount of (a) large particulates (PM10), (b) small particulates (PM2.5) and (c) nitrogen dioxide emitted to air in the UK by (i) domestic biomass generation of heat and (ii) biomass for power generation in each of the next five years; and what proportion of the annual national inventory of the respective emissions these represent.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
Projections of emissions have been made based on the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory released in December 2012 and the Department of Energy & Climate Change's energy projections published in October 2013 for the year 2015.
The emissions from domestic combustion in 2015 and their share of national total emissions are estimated to be: (a) for large particles (PM10), 10.1 thousand tonnes and 8.0%; (b) for small particles (PM2.5), 7.2 thousand tonnes and 9.8%; (c) for nitrogen oxides, 0.97 thousand tonnes and 0.087%.
The emissions from power generation in 2015 and their share of national total emissions are estimated to be: (a) for large particles (PM10), 0.022 thousand tonnes and 0.017%; (b) for small particles (PM2.5), 0.011 thousand tonnes and 0.015%; (c) for nitrogen oxides, 1.5 thousand tonnes and 0.13%.
Emissions of nitrogen dioxide have not been separately estimated from those of nitrogen oxides.
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Broughton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what amount of (a) large particulates (PM10), (b) small particulates (PM2.5) and (c) nitrogen dioxide were emitted to air in the UK by (i) domestic biomass generation of heat and (ii) biomass for power generation in the latest year for which figures are available; and what proportion of the annual national inventory of the respective emissions these represent.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
The most recent year for which historic emission estimates are available from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory is 2012. This data was published in December 2013.
The emissions from domestic combustion and their share of national total emissions are estimated to have been: (a) for large particles (PM10), 10.9 thousand tonnes and 9.6%; (b) for small particles (PM2.5), 10.6 thousand tonnes and 13.7%; (c) for nitrogen oxides, 0.96 thousand tonnes and 0.09%.
The emissions from power generation and their share of national total emissions are estimated to have been: (a) for large particles (PM10), 0.65 thousand tonnes and 0.57%; (b) for small particles (PM2.5), 0.55 thousand tonnes and 0.72%; (c) for nitrogen oxides, 4.2 thousand tonnes and 0.4%.
Emissions of nitrogen dioxide have not been separately estimated from those of nitrogen oxides.