Country Review

LITHUANIA

Lithuania 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 Lithuanian Parliament in 1995. Within the framework of that Convention, the Kyoto Protocol signed by President of Lithuania in 1998. It determines that Lithuania must reduce by the year 2008 to 2012 the emissions of gases causing the “greenhouse” effect (CO2, CH4, N2O, halogen hydrogen and SF6) by 8% compared to the 1990 level.

The emissions of gases causing the “greenhouse” effect are rather low in Lithuania. Presently it amounts only 40 per cent of the emission level of 1990 that is a result of drastic economic changes in the country after breaking apart of USSR, the energy consumption attenuated from 4,6 to 2,0 tne. Moreover, the consumption of coal and oil was reduced (50 and 80 per cent respectively), while consumption of natural gas increased. The emission of CO2 decreased accordingly from 45 mln. tons at the beginning of nineties to 16.7 mln. tons at present. An average emission of CO2 is 193 kg for 1 MWh of energy in Lithuania.

A significant increase in CO2 emission is however forecasted during the next several years due to closure of the Ignalina NPP that produces 30 per cent of total energy produced in Lithuania. The utilization of the sustainable energy sources, mainly biomass, is about 8.95% that is aimed at decreasing atmosphere pollution.

Lithuania is situated in the Baltic sedimentary basin that contains several prospective aquifers. These reservoirs are extensively studied with respect to oil field, geothermal field, underground gas storage explorations. Presently, underground gas storage feasibility studies are in progress (two projects in west and central Lithuania). The capacity of major Cambrian aquifer structures attains up to 1.5-2 billion m3 of gas. Alternatively to aquifer structures, a possible CO2 storage location is the depleted oil fields in the west of country at the depths of about 2km. The major prospects for CO2 sequestration are related to the Lower Devonian and Middle Cambrian siliciclastic reservoirs.