DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND SINKS INVENTORY: SUMMARY LU CM O o l2^ DC Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 1990 and 2000 ~ 1990 ¦ 2000 // A v / s s z. Energy Agriculture Industrial Land Use Waste Processes Sector The District of Columbia's Department of Health Air Quality Division issued a report entitled District of Columbia Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories and Preliminary Projections that documents the District's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by sector.1 The inventory reports emission estimates from energy, industrial processes, land use, and waste management sectors. Agriculture is not included as a sector in the inventory because there is negligible agricultural activity in the District. In 1990, the District of Columbia emitted GHGs in the amount of 5.4 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTC02E). In 2000, emissions declined slightly to 5.3 MMTC02E, a 2 percent decrease from 1990 to 2000. The largest contributor to GHG emissions in DC is the energy sector which accounted for 86 percent of emissions in 2000. Within the energy sector, emissions from transportation alone contribute to almost half (38 percent) of GHG emissions, or 2.0 MMTC02E. 1 Historical GHG emission estimates (1990 through 2000) were developed using a set of generally accepted principles and guidelines for state GHG emissions inventories relying to the extent possible on DC-specific data and inputs. Many of the inventory estimates came from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) State Inventory Tool. ------- 1990 C02 (MMTCOzE) ch4 (MMTC02E) n2o (MMTC02E) HFCs, PFCs, and sf6 (MMTC02E) Total (MMTCOzE) Energy * * * * 4.6 Industrial Processes * * * * 0.0 Agriculture1 * * * * * Land Use * * * * 0.0 Waste * * * * 0.7 Net Emissions * * * * 5.4 2000 C02 (MMTCOzE) ch4 (MMTCOzE) NzO (MMTCOzE) HFCs, PFCs, and sf6 (MMTCOzE) Total (MMTCOzE) Energy * * * * 4.5 Industrial Processes * * * * 0.0 Agriculture1 * * * * * Land Use * * * * 0.0 Waste * * * * 0.7 Net Emissions * * * * 5.3 Note: Totals may differ from the sum of the sources due to independent rounding. All emissions are reported in million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTC02E). * The DC Inventory did not include estimates by gas type; thus, emissions of all gases, expressed in C02 equivalents, are presented in the right-most column, t No emissions were reported for this source. Emissions from the waste sector and the land use sector remained constant between 1990 and 2000. Due to the absence of major industrial operations in DC, the industrial processes sector accounts for less than 1 percent of DC's net emissions and declined by 22 percent between 1990 and 20 002. The District of Columbia relies on imported electricity from the surrounding states, which accounts for 98 percent of residential electricity needs. According to the inventory, emissions associated with electricity import totaled 5.8 MMTC02E in 2000 (not shown in the table), which was greater than emissions from all other sectors combined. Per capita emissions (excluding imported electricity) from the District of Columbia were 9 MTC02E for both 1990 and 2000 which is considerably less than the national gross per capita average of 25 MTC02E for those same years. 2 The cause of the decrease in emissions from the industrial processes sector is not provided in the District of Columbia Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories and Preliminary Projections report. ------- |