Disaggregating headline Smart Inventory figures for Scottish Agriculture

The published agricultural Smart Inventory reports emissions under several category headings. In some cases, the categories relate to a specific type of emission from a specific sector. For example, enteric methane from sheep. Yet, in many cases the published figures are aggregated across several sectors. For example, emissions from the combustion of fuel in mobile machinery. This degree of aggregation in published figures masks some of the detail required to identify sectoral emission envelopes for policy purposes. However, calculated but unpublished Inventory figures offer a finer degree of granularity for some categories and further disaggregation can be attempted through recourse to additional information and some assumptions. The results of this approach are outlined in this report for Scottish reported emissions in 2018, distinguishing between figures that are published in the Smart Inventory, available as unpublished background information for the Smart Inventory, taken from published but unrelated secondary sources, or are derived by combining available Inventory information with other data and/or assumptions. The disaggregated estimates presented are subject to a number of caveats and should be regarded as indicative rather than definitive, but nonetheless offer some more detailed insights into the likely magnitude of sectoral emission envelopes. However, further exploration of Inventory methods and data would be advisable to support future policy interpretation of reported headline figures.