Country Review

LATVIA

Latvia has undertaken international obligations aimed at the minimisation of consequences of the global climate change by signing the UN General Convention on Climate Change in 1992 and ratifying in by the Latvian Parliament in 1995. Within the framework of that Convention, the Kyoto Protocol was approved in late 1997, which was signed by Latvia in 1998 and ratified by the Latvian Parliament in 2002. It determines that, from 2008 to 2012, Latvia must reduce the emissions of gases causing the “greenhouse” effect (CO2, CH4, N2O, halogen hydrogen and SF6) by 8% compared to the 1990 level.

At the moment, emissions of gases causing the “greenhouse” effect are one of the lowest in Europe (the emission equivalent per capita is small). Since 1990, with the transfer of the country to the market economy, the emissions of such gases decreased rapidly. The total volume of such emissions in 1990 comprised 31053.71 thousand ton in CO2 equivalent, while in 2000 – 10977.88 thousand ton in CO2 equivalent. The emissions of gases, causing the greenhouse effect, comprised 34% of the 1990 level.

Still, taking into account the tempo of economic development, without improving the energy efficiency in the industrial and communal sectors, the emissions of greenhouse gases will increase, as proven by the emission statistical data for the last two years, indicating at the stabilisation of the emissions at the level of the previous years. That determines the main task in this sphere: to limit the volume of emissions of gases causing the greenhouse effect during economic development in Latvia.

As of 2000, the energy sector was the main source of emissions of gases causing the greenhouse effect – 51.6%, transport – 19.7%; agriculture – 15.9 %, utilisation of waste – 13.3 %, and the industrial processes – 1% of the total amount of such emissions in Latvia.

Several prospects were discovered in the Cambrian deposits during oil exploration in Latvia. The largest prospects are suitable for the establishment of underground storages of ÑÎ2. The depth of the Cambrian aquifer varies from 600 in eastern Latvia to 1,100ì in its western part. The thickness of the reservoir increases from 30 to 70 m in the western direction. The Cambrian sandstone is characterised by high filtering and capacity properties. The porosity comprises 20-25%, permeability - 200-900 mD. The Cambrian reservoir is sealed by a thick sequence of tight Ordovician and Silurian deposits all over the area.

At the moment, a structure of that type is successfully used in the Inchukalns natural gas storage with the total volume 4.2 billion m3 with 2.1 billion m3 of active natural gas.

The total volume of the largest structures, which are suitable for the burial of greenhouse gases, comprises about 40 billion m3.