The analysis of the differences between total emissions
projected for 2020 and estimated for 2012 (Figure 3b) shows that
emissions tend to decrease for the majority of pollutants and
activity sectors. This global decrease is, in some cases, a result of
different sign/trend for different sectors. For example, the high
reduction rate of NOX predicted for some sectors (namely SNAP 8
and 9) are balanced with the increase of others (e.g. SNAP2–
residential combustion) resulting in a small percentage of the
emission total reduction of this pollutant. An increase of SO2,
NMVOC, PM2.5 and PM10 emissions from energy production (SNAP
1) is foreseen according to 2020 projections. This sector covers the
large power plants and petroleum refineries. A slight increase of
PM10 emissions from SNAP4 is also verified.