Czech Republic

Formerly the western part of Czechoslovakia in central Europe, the Czech Republic has a land area of 30,450 sq. mi. (78,866 sq. km), a population of 10.5 million (2011 est.), and a population density of 341 people per sq. mi. (133 people per sq. km). Approximately 41 percent of the land is arable, with a further 11 percent meadows and pasture. In addition, 34 percent of the land is forested.

In 1992, the Czech Republic recorded per-capita carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of 13.1 metric tons per person, which fell to 11.4 metric tons in 2003. Although it did rise slightly in the next few years, in 2007, per-capita emissions stood at 11.3

metric tons per person, with the Czech Republic ranked the 24th-highest emitter of carbon per capita in the world.

About 67 percent of the (CO2) emissions come from solid fuels, with coal providing much of the electricity production in the country. The availability of coal has been a major force in the creation of the area, which propelled the Czech Republic to become the main industrialized center of the Austro–Hungarian Empire at the start of the 20th century; however, burning coal has also contributed to pollution and carbon emissions because so much industry has been powered by it. Today, about 77.8 percent of the country's electricity comes from the burning of fossil fuels, with 18.5 percent from nuclear power, and only 2.5 percent from hydropower. Most of the hydro-electricity is generated from the Dalescie Dam, which was built between 1970 and 1978 on the Jihlava River. As a result of the powerful coalmining industry, especially in the Radnice coal basin, the government has faced major political problems from its attempts to reduce coal consumption, with a gradual move to renewable sources of energy.

As well as the use of solid fuels, liquid fuels account for 16 percent of the country's CO2 emissions, with 15 percent from gaseous fuels. By sector, electricity production accounts for 54 percent of CO2 emissions, with manufacturing and construction industries causing 23 percent and transportation resulting in 10 percent. This last figure is in spite of a good public transportation system, the use of electric trams, the heavy promotion of car-pooling, cycling, and car-free areas of some towns and cities. The Czech government of Václav Klaus took part in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) signed in Rio de Janeiro in May 1992, and the government of Václav Havel signed the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC on November 23, 1998. It was approved by the Czech parliament on November 15, 2001, and entered into force on February 16, 2005.