Chapter 13: Environment and Emissions

Chapter 13: Environment and Emissions

Chapter 13: Environment and Emissions

1 Introduction

1.1 This chapter provides information about the impact of transport on certain aspects of the environment with a focus on greenhouse gas emissions and air quality.  Statistics include atmospheric pollutants and emissions of greenhouse gases by types of transport as well as details of emissions levels of road vehicles.  Data from other chapters within Scottish Transport Statistics are referred to in the analysis.

Key points

  • Transport (including international shipping and aviation) accounts for 37% of Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions under the definition set out in the Climate Change Scotland Act.
  • Road transport makes up 68% of transport greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Through September of the current year (2018) there were 2,615 Ultra Low Emission Vehicles registered in Scotland for the first time – 31% up on the corresponding period in 2017.
  • In 2016, transport accounted for 58% of emissions of oxides of nitrogen, 18% of particulate matter PM10 and 23% of particulate matter PM2.5. As at 15 October 2018, there were 38 active Air Quality Management Areas related to these pollutants.

2 Main Points

Air pollutant emissions

2.1 The main pollutants of current concern in Scotland are:

  • Oxides of nitrogen (NOx);
  • Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5);
  • Sulphur dioxide (SO2);
  • Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs);
  • Ground-level ozone (O3); and
  • Ammonia (NH3).

2.2 Of these, transport is a significant contributor to emissions of oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter.  Transport is also linked to ground level ozone, which is a secondary pollutant produced by chemical reactions involving oxides of nitrogen.

2.3 Historically, transport was also a major contributor to emissions of lead and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs). The significant decline in lead emissions (99% since 1990) has been mainly driven by the progressive phasing out of leaded petrol. The lead content of petrol was reduced from around 0.34 g/l to 0.143 g/l in 1986. From 1987, sales of unleaded petrol increased, particularly as a result of the increased use of cars fitted with three-way catalysts. Leaded petrol was phased out from general sale at the end of 1999. For NMVOCs, transport sector emissions declined significantly during the 1990s due to the increased use of catalytic converters and fuel switching from petrol to diesel cars. (Chart 13.1a).

2.4 Emissions of nitrogen oxides(NOx) were estimated to be 91kt in 2016 of which transport accounted for 58%.  Since 1990, transport emissions have declined by 65%. Transport emissions have declined due to a number of reasons including the requirement for new petrol cars to be fitted with three-way catalysts since 1989 and, in more recent years, “Euro standards” for new cars have driven a reduction in emissions, although studies show that the diesel Euro 5 cars have not performed as well as expected. Since 2008, there has been a general reduction in the emissions from passenger cars, mainly driven by improvement in catalyst repair rates. In 2016, diesel cars and light goods vehicles (LGVs) accounted for 37% of NOx emissions from transport compared with less than 2% in 1990. (Table 13.1a)

2.5 Emissions of PM10 were estimated to be 14kt in 2016, of which transport accounted for 18%.  Since 1990, transport emissions have declined by 64%. For particulate matter, the main source of transport emissions is non-exhaust emissions from tyre and brake wear and road abrasion. In 2016, these accounted for 49% of PM10 emissions from transport compared with 14% in 1990. Since 1990, exhaust emissions from road transport have decreased by 76% due to the penetration of new vehicles meeting tighter PM10 emission regulations ("Euro standards" for diesel vehicles were first introduced in 1992). Over the same period emissions from shipping fell by 82%. (Table 13.1a)

2.6. Emissions of PM2.5 were estimated to be 9kt in 2016 of which transport accounted for 23%.  Trends in emissions of PM2.5 from transport follow a similar pattern to those for PM10. PM2.5 accounts for all road transport exhaust PM10 emissions and most of such emissions from shipping but only around 55% of PM10 emissions due to road abrasion and tyre and brake wear. 

Air quality

2.7 Concentrations of air pollutants are sampled at automatic monitoring sites and the information is held in the “Scottish Air Quality Database” on the “Air Quality in Scotland” website (http://www.scottishairquality.co.uk/),  The data section of the “Air Quality in Scotland” website provides detailed information on all sites while the publication section of the website includes reports showing trends. Table 13.1b in this publication shows concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, ozone and PM10 at a mixture of urban and rural monitoring sites with long time series. Air quality is monitored against standards set as air quality objectives (see Notes and Definitions section, page 225).

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

2.8 For some of the selected monitoring sites, nitrogen dioxide concentrations show a downward trend. In 2017, 8 of the 11 selected operational  sites that recorded nitrogen dioxide concentrations with a data capture rate of over 75% had the lowest concentrations recorded over the period 2007-2017.  In 2010, concentrations at eight of the selected sites reached their highest value over the period 2007-2017. Note that this excludes figures for years where the data capture rate was 75% or lower. In 2017, 72 sites in Scotland recorded nitrogen dioxide concentrations with a  data capture rate of over 75%, of which 55 were roadside or kerbside locations.  Of these 72 sites, 7 had concentrations in excess of the air quality strategy objective of 40 g/m3 as an annual mean.  All 7 sites were located at the roadside or kerbside. (Table 13.1b)

Ozone (O3)

2.8 Though transport emissions contribute to ozone formation, levels of ozone are generally higher in rural areas due to the long-range transportation of primary pollutants from urban sources. In addition, ozone  reacts with nitric oxide, which is more abundant in urban areas due to traffic emissions, to form nitrogen dioxide; therefore ozone  levels are usually lower in urban areas. While at the selected monitoring sites there has been some indication of a downward trend in the number of occurrences of maximum daily concentrations exceeding 100 g/m3, this has since levelled off. There appears to be no trend in average annual concentrations. In 2017, out of all 11 sites in Scotland recording ozone with a  data capture rate of over 75%, one site (Peebles) had more than 10 occurrences of maximum daily concentrations exceeding 100 g/m3. (Table 13.1b)

Particulate matter (PM10)

2.9 PM10 concentrations show a general downward trend at the selected sites.  In 2017, of the 66 sites in Scotland recording PM10 with a data capture rate over 75%, one  roadside site (Edinburgh Queensferry Road) had concentrations greater than the air quality objective of 18 g/m3 as an annual mean.  This site also exceeded the air quality objective set as 7 occurrences of a daily mean above 50 g/m3. (Table 13.1b)

Air Quality Management Areas

2.10 Whenever it appears that one or more of the air quality objectives is unlikely to be met by the required date, the local authority concerned must declare an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) covering the area of concern. The authority must then prepare and implement an action plan outlining how it intends to tackle the issues identified.  Table 13.1c summarises active AQMAs and the pollutants of concern. As at 15 October 2018, there were 38 active AQMAs, all but one of which related to either NO2 or PM10, or both.

Greenhouse gases

2.11 In 2016, Transport (including international aviation and shipping) accounted for -14.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e).  This represents 37.3 per cent of net greenhouse gas emissions allocated to Scotland in the Greenhouse Gas Inventories, up from 32.7 per cent in 2015.  Total net emissions from all sources fell by 10.3 per cent between 2015 and 2016, before making an adjustment to account for the EU Emissions Trading System while in transport total emissions increased by 2.3 per cent.  Within Transport’s emissions, Road Transportation accounted for approximately 68.1 per cent of the transport total, (Passenger Cars contribute 40.1 per cent alone).  Heavy Goods Vehicles and Light Goods Vehicles were the other significant contributors to transport emissions (12.4 per cent and 12.0 per cent respectively).  International Aviation and Shipping contributed roughly 12.6 per cent and Domestic Aviation 4.6 per cent of transport’s total emissions. The contribution from rail was 1.2 per cent and domestic shipping, 13.5 per cent.  It should be noted that these estimates use a methodology designed to produce internationally-comparable figures so apparent year-to-year fluctuations could be due in part to limitations in or changes to the underlying data or calculations.  See Table 13.2 for more detail and emissions from earlier years and Section 4.2  below for more detail on the methodology used.

2.12 Figure 13.2 shows transport emissions over time, by mode.  Estimated car emissions have fallen by 8.1 per cent since 2006.  Traffic levels (vehicle km) have increased slightly over the last few years so the reduction in emissions seen will be due to the introduction of more fuel efficient vehicles as well as other more fuel efficient driving, particularly in the business fleet.  More detail on car emissions is set out from paragraph 2.7 of this chapter while more details on traffic volumes by mode can be found in chapter 5 of STS.  Details of personal modal choice can be found in chapter 11

2.13 The Greenhouse Gas Inventories report the emissions of the six gases that are listed under the Kyoto Protocol.  In the case of transport, the quantities of gases involved are relatively small except for carbon dioxide, which accounts for about 99 per cent of transport’s total. (Table 13.3).

2.14 Table 13.4 presents some comparisons between the UK as a whole and Scotland.  Overall, Scotland’s emissions account for 8.6 per cent of UK transport emissions.  At 5.6 per cent, Scotland’s total aviation emissions sit well below a proportionate share. At 12.7 per cent Scottish bus emissions are above a proportionate share of the UK total, while domestic aviation, at 21.8 per cent, are significantly above that benchmark. 

2.15 Estimates of carbon dioxide emissions per passenger-km for different modes of transport are available only for GB/UK as a whole.  The lowest emitting modes of transport per passenger-km are coaches and light rail & tram  - 28 and 40 grams of CO2e respectively.  Air travel tends to be the highest emitter per passenger-kilometre, particularly domestic flights, which account for 158 grams of CO2e per passenger kilometre (Table 13.5).  The basis of these estimates is described in section 13.5 page 302.

Car emissions 

2.16 Newly registered cars are becoming more fuel efficient and thus emit fewer emissions per kilometre. Figure 13.3 shows the steady downward trend in average CO2 emissions for newly registered cars in Scotland.  Average CO2 emissions in Scotland for new car registrations has fallen by 26 per cent over the last ten years. However, the average for 2017 was similar to the previous year.  (Table 13.6a)

2.17 More detail of this trend is shown in figure 13.4. The proportion of newly registered cars with emissions of 140g/km or lower has increased from 29 per cent in 2007 to 85 per cent in 2017.  Cars with emissions of over 200g/km have decreased from 10 per cent of new cars to zero.  These changes are at least in part the result of changes to vehicle excise duty bandings made by the UK Government in recent years.

Ultra low emission vehicles (ULEV)

2.18 The number of ultra-low emission vehicles registered in Scotland for the first time so far in 2018 is 31% up on the corresponding figure in 2017 (January – September).   Almost all of these sales have been supported by Plug-in-Grant scheme for cars and vans. At the end of Q3 2018 there are 10,360 ULEVs registered in Scotland (Table 13.7 and 13.8)

Registrations by type of vehicle

2.19 The overwhelming majority (99 per cent) of vehicles licensed for use on the roads in Scotland are still powered by either petrol or diesel.  Historically petrol powered vehicles have been outsold by diesel vehicles but overall there are more petrol vehicles on the road than diesel ones.  While 29 per cent of all diesel vehicles are body types other than cars only 5 per cent of petrol vehicles were not cars. (Table 13.9 and 13.10)

Table 13.1a: Emissions of air pollutants by type of transport allocated to Scotland1
  1990 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
  thousand tonnes of pollutant
Oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
Road transport 105.5 47.9 47.0 45.5 42.9 35.7 33.8 31.8 30.6 29.7 28.7 27.6 26.7
of which:
Buses and coaches 6.4 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.3 4.2 4.1 3.6 3.3 3.1 2.8 2.3 1.8
Passenger cars 70.5 22.2 21.3 19.4 18.8 14.8 13.7 13.1 12.8 12.6 12.5 12.3 12.3
of which: Diesel 0.9 7.1 7.6 7.9 8.5 8.6 8.7 9.0 9.5 10.0 10.3 10.5 10.8
Petrol 69.6 15.1 13.7 11.5 10.3 6.2 5.0 4.1 3.3 2.6 2.2 1.8 1.5
HGVs 19.4 14.8 14.9 15.1 13.8 11.1 10.4 9.3 8.3 7.1 5.9 4.7 3.7
Light goods vehicles 9.1 6.1 6.1 6.1 5.9 5.5 5.5 5.7 6.1 6.8 7.5 8.3 8.9
of which: Diesel 1.7 5.5 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.6 6.0 6.7 7.4 8.2 8.8
Petrol 7.4 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0
Mopeds and motorcycles 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Railways 2.1 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.9 2.9 3.0 3.0 2.9 3.0 2.8 2.7
Aviation 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
Shipping6 38.5 35.8 31.0 32.0 30.4 28.6 26.9 23.8 23.3 21.5 22.8 22.3 21.7
Other transport 4.1 2.7 2.8 3.0 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.4 2.2 2.0 1.7 1.4 1.4
Total Transport 150.6 90.0 84.2 83.8 79.5 70.4 66.6 61.4 59.5 56.5 56.6 54.6 52.9
Non-transport emissions 169.5 88.3 97.1 88.9 76.8 67.7 68.8 57.2 58.4 54.9 51.1 48.7 38.0
Emissions from all sources 320.1 178.3 181.3 172.8 156.3 138.0 135.4 118.6 117.9 111.4 107.7 103.2 90.9
Transport % of all NOx emissions 47% 50% 46% 49% 51% 51% 49% 52% 50% 51% 53% 53% 58%
Particulate matter (PM10)
Road transport2 3.01 2.58 2.56 2.50 2.40 2.30 2.24 2.08 2.01 1.92 1.85 1.79 1.73
of which: exhaust emissions from: Buses and coaches 0.29 0.09 0.08 0.08 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.03 0.02
Passenger cars 0.49 0.50 0.49 0.48 0.49 0.48 0.45 0.38 0.37 0.33 0.29 0.27 0.24
HGVs 0.75 0.31 0.30 0.28 0.23 0.19 0.17 0.15 0.13 0.11 0.09 0.08 0.06
Light goods vehicles 0.49 0.49 0.45 0.42 0.38 0.36 0.36 0.31 0.28 0.24 0.20 0.18 0.15
Mopeds and motorcycles 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Road abrasion 0.35 0.42 0.43 0.44 0.43 0.43 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.43 0.43 0.44
Tyre and brake wear 0.64 0.77 0.79 0.81 0.80 0.79 0.78 0.77 0.77 0.77 0.79 0.80 0.81
Railways 0.09 0.10 0.11 0.10 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.10 0.10
Aviation3 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Shipping4,6 3.80 2.50 2.18 1.73 1.47 1.32 1.11 0.89 0.82 0.71 0.71 0.69 0.69
Other transport5 0.17 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.12 0.11 0.10 0.09 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.04
Total Transport 7.07 5.32 4.98 4.47 4.10 3.84 3.57 3.18 3.02 2.82 2.73 2.63 2.57
Non-transport emissions 32.75 14.82 15.30 14.92 13.45 12.34 13.91 12.68 12.16 12.55 12.28 11.93 11.86
Emissions from all sources 39.83 20.15 20.28 19.39 17.55 16.18 17.48 15.86 15.18 15.37 15.01 14.56 14.43
Transport % of all PM10 emissions 18% 26% 25% 23% 23% 24% 20% 20% 20% 18% 18% 18% 18%
Particulate matter (PM2.5)
Road transport2 2.56 2.05 2.01 1.95 1.85 1.76 1.70 1.55 1.48 1.39 1.30 1.24 1.17
of which: exhaust emissions from: Buses and coaches 0.29 0.09 0.08 0.08 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.03 0.02
Passenger cars 0.49 0.50 0.49 0.48 0.49 0.48 0.45 0.38 0.37 0.33 0.29 0.27 0.24
HGVs 0.75 0.31 0.30 0.28 0.23 0.19 0.17 0.15 0.13 0.11 0.09 0.08 0.06
Light goods vehicles 0.49 0.49 0.45 0.42 0.38 0.36 0.36 0.31 0.28 0.24 0.20 0.18 0.15
Mopeds and motorcycles 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Road abrasion 0.19 0.23 0.23 0.24 0.24 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.24
Tyre and brake wear 0.36 0.43 0.44 0.45 0.45 0.44 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.44 0.45 0.45
Railways 0.09 0.10 0.10 0.09 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10
Aviation3 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Shipping4,6 3.60 2.37 2.06 1.64 1.39 1.25 1.06 0.84 0.77 0.68 0.68 0.65 0.65
Other transport5 0.17 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.12 0.11 0.10 0.09 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.04
Total Transport 6.42 4.65 4.31 3.81 3.46 3.22 2.96 2.59 2.44 2.24 2.14 2.04 1.97
Non-transport emissions 19.8 8.4 8.7 8.5 7.9 7.4 8.2 7.3 7.4 7.3 7.1 6.9 6.8
Emissions from all sources 26.3 13.0 13.0 12.3 11.4 10.6 11.2 9.9 9.8 9.6 9.2 9.0 8.7
Transport % of all PM2.5 emissions 24% 36% 33% 31% 30% 30% 27% 26% 25% 23% 23% 23% 23%

Source: National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory - Not National Statistics
1. From the Air Quality Pollutant Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 1990 - 2016. Emissions are available annually only with effect from 1998. All the figures in this table are updated annually to reflect changes to the methodology used.
2. The Road Transport emissions database uses emission factors (g/km) for different types of vehicles, which depend on the fuel type (petrol or diesel) and are influenced by thedrive cycle or average speeds on the different types of roads; traffic activity for each DA region, including distance and average speed travelled by each type of vehicle on each type of road; DA-specific fleet data on petrol/diesel car mix, car engine size and fleet composition (including age). The sum of emissions across all parts of the UK equates to the total for the UK inventory where that total is normalised using fuel sales data of petrol and DERV.
3. Only take-off and landing emissions are reported.
4. Includes emissions from coastal shipping, shipping betweeen Scotland and the Overseas Territories, fishing vessels, marine engines, personal watercraft, inland goods-carrying vehicles, motorboats and sail boats with auxiliary engines.
5. Includes military aviation and naval vessels, aircraft support vehicles and railways stationary combustion.
6. Data have been revised due to changes in methodology - see paragraph 13.3.3 in notes and definitions.

Table 13.1b: Atmospheric concentrations of selected pollutants (*, a) recorded at Air Quality Monitoring Stations
Air Quality monitoring station 1 Type of monitoring station
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Nitrogen dioxide 2 micrograms per cubic metre
Aberdeen Errol Place Urban background 24 25 26 * 23 21 * 22 23 21 22
Aberdeen Union Street Roadside 53 55 * 59 44 53 48 47 46 43 40
Bishopbriggs, Kirkintilloch Road Roadside 32 33 33 33 * 30 31 29 27 29 27
Dumfries, A780 Roadside 38 37 35 40 32 33 30 30 30 31 30
Dundee Lochee Road Roadside 53 53 54 55 * 53 52 46 48 45 44
Dundee Union Street Kerbside 36 43 45 40 36 32 31 29 28 10 ..
Eskdalemuir Rural 5 5 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2
Edinburgh Gorgie Road Roadside 41 42 38 41 37 39 38 34 32 33 30
Edinburgh St Leonards Urban background 27 31 24 31 25 24 22 * * 20 20
Glasgow Centre, St Enoch's Square  Urban centre 31 35 42 44 34 * .. .. .. .. ..
Glasgow Kerbside, Hope Street Kerbside 70 82 78 84 72 72 67 68 60 65 59
Glasgow Byres Road Roadside 40 43 40 47 * 39 44 * 38 38 37
Glasgow City Chambers Urban background 47 48 46 49 * .. .. .. .. .. ..
Inverness, Telford Street Roadside 22 21 21 24 27 29 21 21 * 24 ..
Perth High Street Roadside 29 27 25 30 27 26 22 22 22 23 22
Ozone 3 micrograms per cubic metre
Edinburgh St Leonards Urban background 48 49 52 33 40 49 49 * 45 45 46
Eskdalemuir Rural 54 57 56 55 53 51 60 58 57 54 57
Strath Vaich Rural 68 73 67 61 64 67 70 69 70 68 68
  Number of daily maximums (measured as an 8-hour running mean) exceeding 100ug/m3
Edinburgh St Leonards Urban background 9 14 3 0 0 4 2 * 3 3 0
Eskdalemuir Rural 11 16 20 2 10 7 14 7 9 8 0
Strath Vaich Rural 17 65 4 4 14 12 23 17 10 10 0
Particulates (PM10) 4 micrograms per cubic metre
Aberdeen Errol Place Urban background 17 16 15 13 14 12 13 15 12 12 11
Aberdeen Union Street Roadside 19 22 18 18 22 21 20 18 * 13 13
Bishopbriggs, Kirkintilloch Road Roadside 22 17 19 19 17 15 * * * 15 16
Dundee Broughty Ferry Roadside 18 15 15 16 16 14 16 15 13 12 11
Dundee Union Street Kerbside 22 17 17 17 19 16 15 16 17 .. ..
Edinburgh Queen Street Roadside 26 18 17 18 16 16 17 17 15 * ..
Edinburgh St Leonards Urban background 19 15 * 14 15 * 14 * 10 11 10
Glasgow Byres Road Roadside 25 10 19 23 * 13 * * 10 12 13
Glasgow Waulkmillglen Reservoir Rural 15 12 11 12 12 11 12 * 11 * 11
Glasgow Kerbside, Hope Street Kerbside 32 27 26 29 * * 23 .. .. .. ..
Glasgow Centre, St Enoch's Square Urban centre 20 19 25 * 17 * .. .. .. .. ..
Inverness, Telford Street Roadside 14 12 12 14 12 11 12 11 9 9 ..
Perth High Street Roadside 20 16 16 19 19 15 16 14 13 13 13
Particulates (PM2.5) 5 micrograms per cubic metre
Aberdeen Errol Place Urban background .. .. .. 7 8 9 9 10 8 5 6
Aberdeen Union Street Roadside .. .. .. .. .. .. .. * 11 7 7
Auchencorth Moss Rural 4 3 3 .. 4 4 .. 7 3 3 5
Edinburgh St Leonards Urban background .. .. 8 9 12 .. 8 .. 6 6 7
Glasgow Kerbside, Hope Street Kerbside .. .. .. 23 22 20 16 .. .. .. ..
Glasgow Centre, St Enoch's Square Urban centre .. .. 12 12 10 .. .. .. .. .. ..
Glasgow High Street Roadside .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 8 8 7
Glasgow Townhead Urban background .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 7 7 7 8
Grangemouth Urban industrial .. .. 9 11 11 11 .. 8 9 6 6

Source: Scottish Government - Not National Statistics
1. The sites chosen are a mixture of urban and rural site types with long time series
2. Annual mean concentration of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide.
3. Annual mean ground level ozone concentration.
4. Annual mean atmospheric PM10 concentration.
5. Annual mean atmospheric PM2.5 concentration.
(*) Since 2003, results where data capture is less than 75% are not shown.
(..) Site not in operation for given year
(a) those to which transport is understood to contribute significantly - see text.

Table 13.1c: Number of active Air Quality Management Areas by pollutant and local authority, as at 15 October 2018
Local authority Pollutant(s) All pollutants
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) only Particulate Matter (PM10) only Both NO2 and PM10 Sulphur dioxide
Aberdeen City Council - - 3 - 3
City of Edinburgh Council 5 1 - - 6
Dundee City Council - - 1 - 1
East Dunbartonshire Council - - 2 - 2
East Lothian Council 1 - - - 1
Falkirk Council 1 1 1 1 4
Fife Council - - 2 - 2
Glasgow City Council 2 - 1 - 3
Highland Council 1 - - - 1
North Lanarkshire Council - 4 - - 4
Perth & Kinross Council - - 2 - 2
Renfrewshire Council 2 - 1 - 3
South Lanarkshire Council 1 2 - - 3
West Lothian Council - 1 2 - 3
Scotland 13 9 15 1 38

Source: Scottish Air Quality website - Not National Statistics

Figure 13.1: Index of air pollutant emissions from transport in Scotland, 1990-2016 (1990=100) Lead

Figure 13.1: Index of air pollutant emissions from transport in Scotland, 1990-2016 (1990=100) Lead

Table 13.2: Emissions of greenhouse gases by type of transport allocated to Scotland 1
  1990 1995 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
  thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent
Transport 
Road transportation2 9,182 9,257 10,132 10,296 9,913 9,588 9,491 9,328 9,393 9,342 9,425 9,571 9,806
Buses & coaches 596 598 516 544 497 501 521 482 467 480 481 470 439
Passenger cars 5,788 5,841 6,284 6,301 6,135 5,958 5,759 5,680 5,705 5,615 5,629 5,653 5,775
Heavy Goods Vehicles 1,789 1,711 1,837 1,881 1,775 1,648 1,693 1,647 1,680 1,690 1,689 1,741 1,782
Light Goods Vehicles 957 1,066 1,399 1,474 1,411 1,393 1,433 1,437 1,460 1,480 1,547 1,629 1,734
Mopeds & motorcycles 39 27 38 41 39 38 34 34 33 33 34 33 34
Other road3 14 14 57 55 56 51 51 48 48 45 45 44 41
Railways 123 126 159 170 171 170 171 168 172 171 174 173 173
Aviation and Maritime 5,456 6,328 5,533 5,671 5,455 5,098 4,676 4,427 4,106 4,045 4,167 4,333 4,419
International Aviation & international shipping4 1,301 1,476 1,688 1,738 1,773 1,624 1,426 1,547 1,455 1,531 1,614 1,698 1,818
Domestic Aviation   804 690 947 944 865 764 702 684 656 656 623 607 565
Domestic Shipping and Maritime 3,302 4,111 2,810 2,899 2,730 2,628 2,470 2,113 1,910 1,770 1,838 1,932 1,939
Other aviation and maritime5 49 51 88 90 87 82 79 82 85 88 91 96 98
Total transport 14,761 15,712 15,824 16,138 15,539 14,857 14,337 13,923 13,671 13,558 13,766 14,078 14,397
Non-transport net emissions  60,835 59,841 48,502 43,808 43,105 39,360 41,486 35,240 37,786 34,836 30,594 28,928 24,177
Net emissions all sources6 75,596 75,553 64,326 59,946 58,644 54,217 55,823 49,163 51,457 48,394 44,359 43,006 38,574
Transport % of 
Total net emissions3 19.5 20.8 24.6 26.9 26.5 27.4 25.7 28.3 26.6 28.0 31.0 32.7 37.3

Source: Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (see sources section for more details) - Not National Statistics
1. From the Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 1990 - 2014. Some headings below are own aggregations. Emissions estimates are available for 1990, 1995 and then annually from 1998. All the figures in this table reflect the current methodology used in the calculation of emissions within the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory
2. The method used to estimate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from road transport is based on vehicle kilometre travelled data constrained so that the sum of emissions across all parts of the UK equates to the total for the UK inventory, where that total is derived from fuel sales data of petrol and DERV within the UK as specified in the reporting guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Further detail can be found in Section 3.3 of the report and in Annex 2
3. Other road includes urea used as part of an addative for certain categories of diesel engine, LPG use and road vehicle engines.
4. A split between International aviation and international shipping can be found in the Carbon Accout for Transport
5. Aviation support vehicles at airports
6. Net emissions take account of removals of carbon dioxide due to carbon sinks.

Table 13.3 Emissions of greenhouse gases1 by Transport2 allocated to Scotland
  1990 1995 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
  thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent
Greenhouse gases - excluding international aviation and shipping
Carbon dioxide 13,192 13,944 13,961 14,229 13,616 13,094 12,777 12,245 12,086 11,896 12,015 12,239 12,435
Methane 100 74 27 24 22 16 15 13 12 10 10 9 9
Nitrous Oxide 168 218 148 147 129 122 120 117 118 121 126 131 136
All greenhouse gases - excluding international aviation and shipping 13,460 14,236 14,136 14,399 13,767 13,233 12,912 12,376 12,216 12,027 12,151 12,379 12,579
Greenhouse gases - international aviation and shipping
Carbon dioxide 1,284 1,455 1,669 1,719 1,753 1,606 1,410 1,531 1,440 1,515 1,597 1,681 1,799
Methane 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nitrous Oxide 16 20 18 18 19 18 15 17 15 16 17 17 19
All greenhouse gases - international aviation and shipping 1,301 1,476 1,688 1,738 1,773 1,624 1,426 1,547 1,455 1,531 1,614 1,698 1,818
All transport greenhouse gases 14,761 15,712 15,824 16,138 15,539 14,857 14,337 13,923 13,671 13,558 13,766 14,078 14,397

Source: Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (see sources section for more details) - Not National Statistics
1. The footnotes to Table 5.12 also apply to this table, including revision of the figures; though note that emisions of methane and nitrous oxide from road transport are estimated using vehicle kilometre data in both of the calculation methods, and the total emissions of these GHGs from the two methods are identical. There are no emissions of other greenhouse gases by Transport in the Inventory.
2. The figures for greenhouse gas emissions are expressed in terms of their Global Warming Potential in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. To convert from tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent to tonnes of other gases multiply by the following factors: GWP methane - 25, GWP nitrous oxide - 298.

Table 13.4: Comparison of transport greenhouse gas emissions Scotland and UK as a whole
  Scottish emissions 2016 Scottish emissions as a % of UK emissions 2016 Change in Scottish emissions (2015-2016) Change in UK emissions (2015-2016) Change in Scottish emissions (1990-2016) Change in UK emissions (1990-2016)
All Transport 14,397 8.6% 2.3% 2.0% -2.5% 10.9%
All Transport(excl. International Aviation and Shipping)  12,579 10.0% 1.6% 1.9% -6.5% -1.8%
Road Transport1,2 9,806 8.6% 2.4% 2.4% 6.8% 3.3%
of which:
Cars  5,775 8.2% 2.2% 2.1% -0.2% -2.8%
Heavy Goods Vehicles 1,782 8.8% 2.3% 2.2% -0.4% -1.0%
Light Goods Vehicles 1,734 9.0% 6.4% 5.5% 81.3% 64.7%
Buses & coaches 439 12.7% -6.6% -6.6% -26.4% -34.1%
Motorcycles 34 6.3% 1.6% 3.7% -0.2% -29.6%
Rural 4,894 10.7% 2.8% 3.2% 5.6% 8.7%
Urban 2,993 7.3% 1.4% 1.3% -12.0% -16.3%
Motorway 1,863 6.9% 3.7% 2.7% 66.4% 39.6%
Rail 173 8.6% -0.4% -0.6% 39.9% 3.3%
Aviation (Domestic)   565 21.8% -7.0% -6.2% -29.8% -51.9%
Aviation (Including International) 2,088 5.6% 3.2% 0.9% 50.0% 75.3%
Maritime (Domestic)   1,939 30.4% 0.4% -2.2% -41.3% -35.8%
Maritime (Including International) 2,331 15.6% 0.9% 2.3% -42.6% -17.3%

Source: Carbon Account for Transport (see sources section for more details) - Not National Statistics
1. Road transport excludes the 'other' category shown in Table 13.2
2. The comparisions shown by category of road excludes emissions from the 'other' category of road transport and emissions generated from cold starts

Figure 13.2: Greenhouse gas emissions attributed to Scotland by mode of transport

Figure 13.2: Greenhouse gas emissions attributed to Scotland by mode of transport

Table 13.5: UK Carbon Dioxide emissions: grams per passenger-kilometre, 2018 1
grams of CO2 per pass-km
Petrol cars 1222
Diesel cars 1182
Average petrol hybrid 842
All Cars (average) 1082
Petrol motorbike 115
Bus  101
Coach 28
National rail 44
Light rail and tram 40
Ferry 113
Domestic flights3 1584
Short haul international3 864
Long haul international3 1124

Source: DEFRA - Not National Statistics
1. Source: http://www.ukconversionfactorscarbonsmart.co.uk/ All figures are estimated using data for GB/UK as a whole so do not specifically relate to Scotland.
2. All Car figures assume an average car occupancy rate of 1.50 passengers based on the latest Transport and Travel in Scotland. Note: The average is for the type of cars listed and is not weighted by the proportion of each type of propulsion.
3. The long haul estimate is based on a flight length from the Guidelines of of 6482 km, short haul 1108km and domestic 463km.
4. All the factors include the distance uplift of 8% to compensate for planes not flying using the most direct route i.e. flying around international airspace, stacking etc.

Table 13.6a: Cars registered for the first time by CO2 emission band, Scotland
  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
thousands
Up to 100 g/km 0.0 0.3 1.3 2.3 4.6 13.0 25.6 36.2 39.1 36.4 32.3
101 - 110 g/km 4.0 4.8 8.1 9.2 15.3 17.3 23.5 34.8 46.9 52.6 43.6
111 - 120 g/km 6.4 12.1 24.7 29.7 28.1 31.6 43.1 48.2 41.2 48.3 47.4
121 - 130 g/km 9.4 11.0 15.4 27.6 28.5 39.4 39.7 36.5 33.3 32.1 29.8
131 - 140 g/km 38.2 36.7 41.5 33.9 31.4 30.5 26.3 23.8 23.7 20.1 21.1
141 - 150 g/km 27.5 24.3 24.7 20.5 20.3 18.9 17.0 13.8 12.7 12.5 11.3
151 - 165 g/km 45.8 33.0 32.7 25.3 18.1 14.1 14.1 15.3 13.2 10.1 9.2
166 - 175 g/km 21.5 16.7 10.7 6.2 6.1 5.7  6.4 4.4 4.1 3.5 3.2
176- 185 g/km 12.8 9.5 9.4 7.5 5.4 3.5  2.5 2.6 3.0 2.2 2.2
186- 200 g/km 16.0 11.3 7.4 7.0 4.6 3.9  2.8 2.9 1.3 1.0 1.5
201 - 225 g/km 10.1 6.1 5.1 3.7 1.8 1.5  1.5 1.8 1.6 1.5 0.8
226 - 255 g/km 4.2 2.4 2.3 2.6 2.3 1.8  1.4 1.0 0.6 0.4 0.3
Over 255 g/km 5.2 3.4 2.2 1.2 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.5
Not known 1.5 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.7
Total 202.5 172.7 186.2 177.2 167.8 182.5 205.2 222.4 221.8 222.1 204.0
Avg CO2 162.2 156.3 148.6 143.4 138.2 133.2 128.4 124.4 121.4 120.0 120.2
Column Percentages
Up to 100 g/km - - 0.7 1.3 2.7 7.1 12.5 16.3 17.6 16.4 15.8
101 - 110 g/km 2.0 2.8 4.3 5.2 9.1 9.5 11.4 15.7 21.2 23.7 21.4
111 - 120 g/km 3.1 7.0 13.3 16.8 16.8 17.3 21.0 21.7 18.6 21.7 23.2
121 - 130 g/km 4.7 6.4 8.3 15.6 17.0 21.6 19.4 16.4 15.0 14.5 14.6
131 - 140 g/km 18.9 21.3 22.3 19.1 18.7 16.7 12.8 10.7 10.7 9.1 10.4
141 - 150 g/km 13.6 14.1 13.3 11.6 12.1 10.4 8.3 6.2 5.7 5.6 5.6
151 - 165 g/km 22.6 19.1 17.5 14.3 10.8 7.8 6.9 6.9 5.9 4.6 4.5
166 - 175 g/km 10.6 9.7 5.8 3.5 3.6 3.1 3.1 2.0 1.8 1.6 1.5
176- 185 g/km 6.3 5.5 5.1 4.2 3.2 1.9 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.0 1.1
186- 200 g/km 7.9 6.6 4.0 4.0 2.8 2.1 1.4 1.3 0.6 - 0.7
201 - 225 g/km 5.0 3.5 2.7 2.1 1.1 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7 -
226 - 255 g/km 2.1 1.4 1.2 1.5 1.4 1.0 0.7 - - - -
Over 255 g/km 2.6 2.0 1.2 0.7 - - - - - - -
Not known 0.7 0.6 - - - - - - - - -
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source: DVLA//DVADfT - GB figures published as DfT table VEH0256

Figure 13.3: New car average CO2 emissions, Scotland 2007-2017

Figure 13.3: New car average CO2 emissions, Scotland 2007-2017

Figure 13.4: First time car registrations, Scotland, by Emissions band, 2007-2017

Figure 13.4: First time car registrations, Scotland, by Emissions band, 2007-2017

Table 13.6b: Licensed cars by CO2 emission band, Scotland
  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
  thousands
Up to 100 g/km  0.0  0.4  1.8  4.1  8.8 22.0 49.2 89.5 133.2 176.5 213.1
101 - 110 g/km 10.5 15.3 23.2 32.5 47.9 67.0 94.1 130.8 176.7 229.2 276.2
111 - 120 g/km 33.9 45.0 68.6 98.9 127.2 158.2 198.5 243.3 279.5 317.8 355.2
121 - 130 g/km 48.6 59.9 74.4 100.1 130.5 170.2 210.9 243.2 267.3 287.8 305.1
131 - 140 g/km 180.6 218.2 254.8 281.4 303.0 321.0 332.6 337.8 335.6 330.6 324.7
141 - 150 g/km 230.1 249.5 265.9 278.2 288.6 293.0 290.9 282.0 265.6 250.9 235.5
151 - 165 g/km 350.7 384.4 407.2 415.2 413.7 401.8 382.5 362.5 336.3 310.6 284.5
166 - 175 g/km 155.7 173.0 180.2 178.7 176.6 172.2 164.0 153.0 139.7 126.5 114.2
176- 185 g/km 115.3 124.1 130.0 130.8 129.2 124.6 116.3 107.7 97.8 88.0 79.0
186- 200 g/km 113.1 125.5 130.5 130.2 128.6 124.1 116.4 108.3 96.9 86.2 76.7
201 - 225 g/km 100.1 106.5 109.6 108.0 104.7 100.1 93.9 87.6 79.7 72.5 65.0
226 - 255 g/km 56.7 59.7 60.9 60.6 60.3 58.6 55.8 52.2 47.2 42.4 37.8
Over 255 g/km 43.4 48.2 50.2 49.8 48.9 46.7 44.2 41.5 37.9 34.8 31.8
Not known 762.0 623.4 491.5 386.1 296.3 225.5 169.9 130.1 100.9 79.2 63.6
Total 2,200.8 2,233.2 2,248.5 2,254.5 2,264.4 2,285.1 2,319.2 2,369.3 2,394.2 2,433.1 2,462.4
Avg CO2 167.7 166.7 164.9 162.6 160.2 157.4 153.9 150.1 146.2 142.4 139.1
  Column Percentages
Up to 100 g/km - - - - - 1.0 2.1 3.8 5.6 7.3 8.7
101 - 110 g/km - 0.7 1.0 1.4 2.1 2.9 4.1 5.5 7.4 9.4 11.2
111 - 120 g/km 1.5 2.0 3.1 4.4 5.6 6.9 8.6 10.3 11.7 13.1 14.4
121 - 130 g/km 2.2 2.7 3.3 4.4 5.8 7.4 9.1 10.3 11.2 11.8 12.4
131 - 140 g/km 8.2 9.8 11.3 12.5 13.4 14.0 14.3 14.3 14.0 13.6 13.2
141 - 150 g/km 10.5 11.2 11.8 12.3 12.7 12.8 12.5 11.9 11.1 10.3 9.6
151 - 165 g/km 15.9 17.2 18.1 18.4 18.3 17.6 16.5 15.3 14.0 12.8 11.6
166 - 175 g/km 7.1 7.7 8.0 7.9 7.8 7.5 7.1 6.5 5.8 5.2 4.6
176- 185 g/km 5.2 5.6 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.1 3.6 3.2
186- 200 g/km 5.1 5.6 5.8 5.8 5.7 5.4 5.0 4.6 4.0 3.5 3.1
201 - 225 g/km 4.5 4.8 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.4 4.0 3.7 3.3 3.0 2.6
226 - 255 g/km 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.4 2.2 2.0 1.7 1.5
Over 255 g/km 2.0 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.0 1.9 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.3
Not known 34.6 27.9 21.9 17.1 13.1 9.9 7.3 5.5 4.2 3.3 2.6
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source: DVLA//DVADfT - GB figures published as DfT table VEH0206

Figure 13.3: Licensed cars average CO2 emissions, Scotland 2007-2017

Figure 13.3: Licensed cars average CO2 emissions, Scotland 2007-2017

Figure 13.4: Licensed car registrations, Scotland, by Emissions band, 2007-2017

Figure 13.4: Licensed car registrations, Scotland, by Emissions band, 2007-2017

Table 13.7: Ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEV)1 registered for the first time, Scotland, quarterly: January 2014 to September 2018
Year Month Plug-in-Grant Eligible Cars Non Plug-in-Grant Plug-in Cars Non Plug-in Cars Quadricycles All Cars (inc. quadricycles) Motor cycles & tricycles Plug-in Grant Eligible Vans Non Plug-in Grant Plug-in Vans Non Plug-in Vans All Vans Heavy Goods Vehicles Buses & Coaches Other vehicles  Total
2014 Jan-Mar 130 0 0 0 130 0 9 0 0 9 0 0 2 141
2014 Apr-Jun 162 4 0 1 167 3 11 1 0 12 0 2 4 188
2014 Jul-Sep 262 5 0 2 269 0 10 2 0 12 0 1 4 286
2014 Oct-Dec 258 14 0 0 272 1 12 2 0 14 0 4 0 291
2015 Jan-Mar 345 20 0 8 373 2 28 1 0 29 0 5 1 410
2015 Apr-Jun 299 18 0 2 319 1 15 2 0 17 0 1 0 338
2015 Jul-Sep 268 11 1 1 281 1 14 2 0 16 0 0 3 301
2015 Oct-Dec 339 2 0 3 344 1 6 2 0 8 0 0 1 354
2016 Jan-Mar 435 13 4 1 453 3 26 0 0 26 1 0 2 485
2016 Apr-Jun 263 8 21 0 292 3 20 0 0 20 0 0 2 317
2016 Jul-Sep 364 8 14 1 387 2 12 0 0 12 1 0 0 402
2016 Oct-Dec 273 12 19 0 304 3 10 2 0 12 0 0 4 323
2017 Jan-Mar 626 14 26 0 666 1 23 1 0 24 0 0 1 692
2017 Apr-Jun 475 14 29 1 519 5 22 1 0 23 0 0 1 548
2017 Jul-Sep 669 26 26 0 721 10 14 1 0 15 0 6 3 755
2017 Oct-Dec 488 12 29 0 529 8 11 1 0 12 0 0 0 549
2018 Jan-Mar 778 22 25 0 825 1 17 2 0 19 0 0 1 846
2018 Apr-Jun 827 62 5 1 895 8 21 0 0 21 0 0 5 929
2018 Jul-Sep 741 51 2 0 794 11 22 0 0 22 0 0 13 840
2014 Whole year 812 23 0 3 838 4 42 5 0 47 0 7 10 906
2015 Whole year 1,251 51 1 14 1,317 5 63 7 0 70 0 6 5 1,403
2016 Whole year 1,335 41 58 2 1,436 11 68 2 0 70 2 0 8 1,527
2017 Whole year 2,258 66 110 1 2,435 24 70 4 0 74 0 6 5 2,544

1. The Department for Transport uses the term 'ultra-low emission vehicles' to refer to vehicles with significantly lower levels of tailpipe emissions than conventional vehicles. In practice, the term currently refers to electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. For the purposes of this indicator, vehicles with fully electric powertrains, and cars with tail-pipe emissions below 75 g/km of CO2 have been included at this stage. Categories in the tables have been changed to bring them in line with those published for the UK Previous figures have been amended because plug in grant eligibility and ULEV classification are revised regularly.
Source: DVLA//DVADfT - Published as DfT table VEH0170
Notes & definitions (https://www.gov.uk/transport-statistics-notes-and-guidance-vehicle-licensing)

Table 13.8: Ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEV)1 licensed at the end of year, Scotland, quarterly: 2014 q1 to 2018 q3
Quarter Plug-in-Grant Eligible Cars Non Plug-in-Grant Plug-in Cars Non Plug-in Cars Quadricycles All Cars (inc. quadricycles) Motor cycles & tricycles Plug-in Grant Eligible Vans Non Plug-in Grant Plug-in Vans Non Plug-in Vans All Vans Heavy Goods Vehicles Buses & Coaches Other vehicles  Total
2014 Q1 541 64 0 16 621 43 70 119 0 189 8 5 181 1,047
2014 Q2 707 64 0 15 786 42 80 120 0 200 9 6 177 1,220
2014 Q3 975 72 0 17 1,064 35 89 120 0 209 10 13 181 1,512
2014 Q4 1,225 82 0 18 1,325 32 96 126 0 222 10 14 181 1,784
2015 Q1 1,565 100 0 27 1,692 34 113 126 0 239 10 22 183 2,180
2015 Q2 1,865 110 0 29 2,004 33 133 116 0 249 10 23 174 2,493
2015 Q3 2,153 100 1 29 2,283 31 150 109 0 259 9 22 174 2,778
2015 Q4 2,511 102 1 32 2,646 33 152 118 0 270 9 22 180 3,160
2016 Q1 2,967 107 5 36 3,115 34 176 115 0 291 10 22 174 3,646
2016 Q2 3,280 116 26 36 3,458 38 202 114 0 316 10 22 171 4,015
2016 Q3 3,722 121 40 36 3,919 42 219 113 0 332 11 22 165 4,491
2016 Q4 4,056 127 58 37 4,278 36 229 114 0 343 10 23 166 4,856
2017 Q1 4,639 144 81 33 4,897 35 256 117 0 373 9 24 165 5,503
2017 Q2 5,149 161 114 33 5,457 40 272 114 0 386 10 24 165 6,082
2017 Q3 5,901 171 137 28 6,237 47 289 113 0 402 10 29 170 6,895
2017 Q4 6,482 177 167 25 6,851 48 292 113 0 405 10 29 163 7,506
2018 Q1 7,314 194 190 23 7,721 48 318 115 0 433 10 28 164 8,404
2018 Q2 8,145 255 192 26 8,618 58 336 107 0 443 9 28 159 9,315
2018 Q3 9,110 287 189 27 9,613 67 362 106 0 468 9 28 175 10,360

1. The Department for Transport uses the term 'ultra-low emission vehicles' to refer to vehicles with significantly lower levels of tailpipe emissions than conventional vehicles. In practice, the term currently refers to electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. For the purposes of this indicator, vehicles with fully electric powertrains, and cars with tail-pipe emissions below 75 g/km of CO2 have been included at this stage. Categories in the tables have been changed to bring them in line with those published for the UK
Previous figures have been amended because plug in grant eligibility and ULEV classification are revised regularly.
Source: DVLA//DVADfT - Published as DfT table VEH0130
Notes & definitions (https://www.gov.uk/transport-statistics-notes-and-guidance-vehicle-licensing)

Figure 13.5: Ultra Low Emission Vehicles licensed in Scotland - growth from 2014 Q1 to 2018 Q3

Figure 13.5: Ultra Low Emission Vehicles licensed in Scotland - growth from 2014 Q1 to 2018 Q3

Table 13.9: Number of new registrations by body type and propulsion type in Scotland during 2017 (Thousands)
  Propulsion type
Diesel Electric diesel Electricity Fuel cells Gas Gas bi-fuel Gas-diesel Hybrid electric New fuel technology Petrol Petrol/gas Steam Grand Total
Body type thousand
Agricultural 2.2 0.0 c 0.0 c 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.0 c 2.9
Buses & coaches 0.7 0.0 ~ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 c 0.0 0.0 0.7
Cars 80.9 0.1 0.9 0.0 0.0 c 0.0 5.6 0.0 116.6 0.0 0.0 204.0
Goods - heavy 4.2 0.0 c 0.0 c 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 c 0.0 0.0 4.2
Goods - light 28.0 0.0 0.1 c 0.0 c 0.0 ~ 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 28.4
Motorcycles, mopeds & scooters 0.0 0.0 ~ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.3 0.0 0.0 6.3
Others 1 2.1 0.0 0.8 0.0 c c c 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 2.9
Taxis 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2
Tricycles c 0.0 c 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 ~ 0.0 0.0 0.1
Grand Total 118.3 0.1 1.8 c ~ ~ c 5.6 0.0 123.9 0.0 c 249.7

c. Value has been suppressed to avoid disclosing personal information.
~ denotes fewer than 50.
1. Includes Invalid Vehicle (Mobility scooters), Lift Trucks, Tel Material Handlers, Hydraulic Excavator, Rear Digger, Ambulance, Fire Engine, Street Cleansing, Roller and Loading Shovel.
Pure Electric ’others’ are Invalid vehicles or Lift Trucks.

Table 13.10: Number of licensed vehicles by body type and propulsion type in Scotland as at 31 December 2017 (Thousands)
  Propulsion type
Diesel Electric diesel Electricity Fuel cells Gas Gas bi-fuel Gasdiesel Hybrid electric New fuel technology Petrol Petrol/gas Steam Grand total
Body type thousand
Agricultural 47.8 0.0 ~ 0.0 ~ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.3 ~ ~ 52.2
Buses & coaches 14.5 0.0 ~ 0.0 0.0 c c 0.0 0.0 0.2 ~ 0.0 14.7
Cars 1,024.0 0.5 3.3 0.0 ~ 0.8 c 18.6 ~ 1,414.6 0.6 c 2,462.4
Goods - heavy 38.1 0.0 ~ 0.0 c c c 0.0 0.0 0.1 ~ ~ 38.2
Goods - light 286.8 c 0.4 0.0 ~ 0.2 0.0 ~ ~ 6.1 0.1 ~ 293.6
Motorcycles, mopeds & scooters ~ 0.0 ~ 0.0 ~ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 69.7 c 0.0 69.8
Not recorded 0.3 0.0 ~ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 c 0.4
Others 1 19.6 0.0 4.7 0.0 0.1 ~ ~ c c 1.0 ~ ~ 25.5
Special purpose 0.3 0.0 ~ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 ~ c ~ 0.4
Taxis 3.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 c 0.0 0.0 0.0 ~ 0.0 0.0 3.6
Tricycles ~ 0.0 c 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.9 c 0.0 0.9
Grand Total 1,435.1 0.5 8.5 0.0 0.1 1.0 ~ 18.6 ~ 1,496.9 0.7 0.1 2,961.6

c. Value has been suppressed to avoid disclosing personal information.
~ denotes fewer than 50.
1. Iincludes Invalid Vehicle (Mobility scooters), Lift Trucks, Tel Material Handlers, Hydraulic Excavator, Rear Digger, Ambulance, Fire Engine, Street Cleansing, Roller and Loading Shovel.
Pure Electric ’others’ are Invalid vehicles or Lift Trucks.