Latvia

THE REPUBLIC OF Latvia, located in the Baltic, and until 1991 a constituent part of the Soviet Union, has a land area of 24,937 sq. mi. (64,589 sq. km.), a population of 2,277,000 (2006 est.), and a population density of 93 people per sq. mi. (36 people per sq. km.). Twenty-seven percent of the country is arable, with a further 13 percent used for meadows and pasture, much of that for raising cattle or dairy farming, contributing to the high per capita methane emission level.

Latvia generates 67 percent of its electricity from hydropower, with the remaining 33 percent from fossil fuels. As a result of this heavy use of hydroelec-tricity, Latvia produced 4.8 metric tons per capita of carbon dioxide (CO2) in 1992, falling to 2.9 metric tons per person by 2003. This was far below its northern neighbor Estonia (16.1 in 1992, 13.6 in 2003) and lower than its southern neighbor Lithuania (5.8 in 1992, 3.7 in 2003). Forty-two percent of the carbon emissions in the country come from electricity and heat production (Latvia having bitterly cold winters), 27 percent from transportation, and 16 percent from manufacturing and construction. In terms of its emissions [Page 597]by source, 62 percent comes from liquid fuels, reflecting the heavy use of privately-owned cars in the country, and 30 percent from gaseous fuels, with the remainder from the use of solid fuels and cement manufacturing. In recent years, the Latvian government has encouraged bicycling in the country to try to reduce dependence on cars for short journeys.

The main effects of global warming and climate change on Latvia have been a rise in the average temperatures in the country, which has allowed more land to be used for arable purposes. However, it has also led to degradation of some coastal lands, and the possibility of flooding in parts of the country. The Latvian government took part in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change signed in Rio de Janeiro in May 1992, and three years later ratified the Vienna Convention.

Latvia signed the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change on December 14, 1998, and ratified it on July 5, 2002. It took effect on February 16,2005. The Latvian government has undertaken to reduce CO2 emissions by 8 percent by 2012.