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This paper presents the Danish emission inventory for non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) from the use of solvents in industries and households. Solvent use constitutes approximately one third of the total NMVOC emissions in Denmark, i.e. 33,000tonnes in 2006 and represents 103,000tonnes CO2-equivalents, which constitutes 0.2% of the total Danish CO2 emissions. NMVOC emissions may be of small concern in relation to CO2 emissions but they are fundamental in relation to many human and environmental health issues and to long range transport of chemical active species. Use and emission pattern of NMVOCs is diverse and complex, as many chemicals are categorized as NMVOCs and are present in many different industrial activities and products. This new approach utilizes detailed information on chemical use, available from the Nordic database substances in preparations in the Nordic countries (SPIN). The database information and methodology can be adopted by other countries in order to reach more precise CO2 conversion factors and emission inventories. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

European and United States' (U.S.) regulatory schemes mandate the use of biofuels based on estimates of life cycle GHG emissions that indicate their environmental superiority compared with conventional fuels. This paper analyzes the quality of the activity data used in calculating these estimates for Brazilian sugarcane and U.S. corn ethanol, in terms of completeness, reliability, and transparency. The findings demonstrate that it is impossible to determine the completeness of the data because the regulation's texts and related documents, and their sources fail to provide information on the representativeness or origins of the data. Moreover, there is no transparency about the sample from which data is extracted. To obtain this information it is necessary to review the literary sources referenced in the regulation's documents. Among the 37 sources of data examined in this analysis, 23 are no longer available, and only 3 sources contain information allowing for the characterization of the adequacy of the sample. In addition, none of the data items analyzed were subject to a verification process. These findings highlight the urgent need to modify biofuel regulation to set minimum standards for data quality and the reporting of data sources, paying particular attention to default activity data. • Data quality is assessed in terms of completeness, reliability, and transparency. • The quality of data on crops and ethanol production in biofuel regulations is low. • The environmental superiority of Brazilian sugarcane ethanol is unclear. • Biofuel regulators should set minimum standards for LCA data quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]