IOWA GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND SINKS
INVENTORY: SUMMARY

=igure 1. IA Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 1990 and 2000	

IA Greenhouse Gas Emissions
1990 and 2000

hi

o

25.0llh
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00

-5.00

33

n-"-"

Energy Industrial Agriculture Land Use Waste
Processes

Sector

~ 1990
¦ 2000

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources report, Year 2000 Iowa Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Inventory, provides a detailed inventory of sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in Iowa.1 In
1990 Iowa emitted greenhouse gases in the amount of 21.1 million metric tons of carbon
equivalent (MMTCE). In 2000, emissions were 26.2 MMTCE, an overall increase of 24 percent
over 1990 emissions. Emissions from energy use and agriculture both increased (28 percent
and 64 percent, respectively). Emissions from industrial processes and waste both decreased
(25 percent and 4 percent, respectively). Land use (including forest management and landfill
carbon sequestration) accounted for a growing sink, which increased in magnitude by 105
percent, from -1.6 MMTCE in 1990 to -3.3 MMTCE in 2000. This increase was due to forest
land expansion, the implementation of conservation tillage, and the inclusion of more land in the
Conservation Reserve Program.

1 Emissions were estimated using methods from EPA's 1999 El IP Document Series, Volume VIII:
Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions.


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Table 1. IA Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Gas and by Sector, 1990 and 2000

1990

C02
(MMTCE)

ch4

(MMTCE)

N20
(MMTCE)

HFCs,
PFCs, and

sf6

(MMTCE)

Total
(MMTCE)

Energy

17.0

0.1

*

*

17.1

Energy (Alt. method)2



*

*

*

*

Industrial Processes

1.1

*

*

0.1

1.2

Agriculture

*

2.1

1.3

*

3.4

Land Use

-1.6

*

*

*

-1.6

Waste

*

0.9

*

*

1.0

Net Emissions

16.5

3.2

1.4

0.1

21.1

2000

C02
(MMTCE)

ch4

(MMTCE)

N20
(MMTCE)

HFCs,
PFCs, and

sf6

(MMTCE)

Total
(MMTCE)

Energy

21.3

0.6

*

*

21.8

Energy (Alt. method)2



*

*

*

*

Industrial Processes

0.5

*

0.2

0.2

0.9

Agriculture

-2.9

2.0

6.5

*

5.6

Land Use

-3.3

*

*

*

-3.3

Waste

*

0.9

*

*

0.9

Net Emissions

15.6

3.4

6.8

0.2

26.2

Note: Totals may differ from the sum of the sources due to independent rounding.

An asterisk (*) indicates emissions of the gas from this sector were zero, insignificant, or not reported.

All emissions are reported in million metric tons of carbon equivalent (MMTCE).

2 Energy (Alt. method) represents alternate emission estimates for the Energy source category using the
EPA State Inventory Tool (SIT); these estimates are provided for reference purposes only and are not
reflected in the table totals. Emission estimates generated using the SIT are higher than those reported
by the Iowa DNR because the SIT estimates emissions from all electricity generated in the state,
regardless of whether the electricity is ultimately used in state or exported. In contrast, the DNR's
estimates reflect emissions from electricity used in the state; because Iowa is a net exporter of
electricity, these estimates are lower than those calculated by the SIT.

The majority of Iowa's emissions came from carbon dioxide (C02), with the burning of fossil
fuels, primarily for the production of electricity, constituting the majority of the C02 emissions in
both years. There was a significant emissions increase in nitrous oxide (N20) between 1990
and 2000, which was a result of a change in methodology for calculating soil emissions.
Adequate soil data was not available to recalculate the 1990 estimate. It is unlikely that actual
soil emissions varied significantly between the two years, though more sources of soil emissions
were identified. Methane (CH4) was the second largest contributor to Iowa's emissions in 1990
and third largest contributor in 2000. These emissions were mostly from landfills, manure
management, and domesticated animals. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons


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(PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) each comprised a small share of the total emissions as
well.

Per capita emissions were 7.6 MTCE in 1990 and 8.9 MTCE in 2000. In both years, Iowa's per
capita emissions were above the national average, which was 6.5 MTCE per capita in 1990 and
6.6 MTCE per capita in 2000.


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