Measuring Your Carbon Footprint Measuring Your Carbon Footprint RVCCC Meeting May 16, 2008 Sean McGinnis Director - VT Green Engineering Program RVCCC Board Member

Life Cycle Thinking Overview IMPACTS Atmosphere: Global Warming Ozone Depletion Smog Formation Acidification Human Health Hydrosphere: Eutrophication Acidification Aquifer depletion Ecotoxicity Human Health Biosphere: Soil depletion Deforestation Resource Depletion Ecotoxicity Human Health InputsOutputs Extraction Manufacturing Use Disposal Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) quantifies all inputs/outputs and allows analysis of both environmental impacts and total costs A Carbon Footprint is a limited LCA which uses global warming as the only impact category

Life Cycle Thinking & Carbon Footprints IMPACTS Atmosphere: Global Warming Ozone Depletion Smog Formation Acidification Human Health Hydrosphere: Eutrophication Acidification Aquifer depletion Ecotoxicity Human Health Biosphere: Soil depletion Deforestation Resource Depletion Ecotoxicity Human Health Electricity Fuels Water Chemicals Products Air Emissions Solid Waste Waste Water How you limit the boundaries and scope of the analysis dictates the time required and accuracy of the footprint Your House Your Business Your Activities Mass In = Mass Out

Chemical Relationships To Global Warming Greenhouse Gas (e i )GWP i (100 year)*Pollutant Source (Anthropogenic) CO 2 (carbon dioxide)1.0 Combustion of fuels N 2 O (nitrous oxide)300 CH 4 (methane)23Waste decomposition in landfills HFC-152a122 Industrial processes and products (air conditioning refrigerants, electrical power industry, metal production, etc.) CF 4 (carbon tetrafluoride)1380 HFC-134a1410 HFC HFC C 2 F 6 (hexafluoroethane)12010 SF 6 (sulfur hexafluoride)22450 Global Warming Potentials (GWP) indicate the degree to which a particular chemical absorbs infrared radiation and thereby warms the atmosphere Source: EPA TRACI Database Global Warming of the atmosphere depends not only on the GWP, but also on the amount of the chemical in the atmosphere Advanced carbon footprints account for gas emissions other than carbon dioxide

Why Use Carbon Dioxide As A Reference? Carbon dioxide emissions dominate greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions are distributed across sectors Source: University of Michigan - Center for Sustainable Systems Factsheets 2000 Source: Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research version 3.2, fast track 2000 project

Emissions Reduction Recommendations CO 2 ReductionTarget YearBaseline YearRecommended By 7% Kyoto Protocol for US (Kyoto, Japan – 1997) 60 – 80% ICLEI, World Mayors Conference on Climate Change, US Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement, C40 Climate Leadership Group (Bali, Indonesia ). 15 – 20%15 – 20 years----ICLEI Milestone Guide (minimum recommendation) Return to 2000 levels Virginia Energy Plan 2%Every year Virginia Citizen Energy Plan For comparison, note the CO 2 emissions increases from 1990 – 2004: 1.US: ~16% (Source: UNFCC report) 2.VA: ~34% (Source: 2007 VA Energy Plan) Various schemes and legislation have been proposed to reduce carbon emissions

Graphical View of Carbon Reduction Plans 2000 baseline 1990 baseline

ICLEI: Local Governments for Sustainability Set emissions reduction goals Baseline emissions inventory & forecast Develop Local Gov’t Action Plan Monitor and verify results Implement Local Action Plan STEP Forecast Year 2006 Virginia ICLEI Members: Albemarle County Arlington County Blacksburg Charlottesville Frederick County Harrisonburg Norfolk Roanoke Roanoke County Warrenton

Roanoke Community ICLEI Baseline Note that Roanoke CO 2 emissions by source are dominated by electricity due to significant coal use (~88%) in the fuel mix.

Municipal Emissions Are A Small Portion Of The Overall Community Baseline Roanoke Municipal vs. Community Baseline Emission Comparison (2005)

You Can’t Manage What You Haven’t Measured Reasons to measure a carbon footprint 1.Measurement provides awareness 2.In most instances, carbon footprints highlight opportunities to save money 3.Without data and measurements, it is not obvious how to make the best choices to reduce carbon emissions 4.Different implementation actions have different costs 5.Without measurements for comparison, it is impossible to tell if you are really making a difference

How To Measure Your Carbon Footprint? Process: 1.Determine the scope of your analysis 2.Collect data for a given time period 3.Translate inputs and outputs to carbon dioxide equivalents 4.Consider options, develop an action plan, implement changes, and monitor effects

Carbon Footprint Are Often Dominated By Only A Few Categories Main contributors to carbon emissions: 1.Electricity: Coal + O 2 → CO 2 2.Natural gas: CH 4 + O 2 → CO 2 + H 2 O 3.Gasoline: C 8 H 18 + O 2 → CO 2 + H 2 O (~20 lbs CO 2 /gallon) 4.Other fuel sources like propane, heat oil All fuels are impure to some degree which leads to other emissions (sulfur, mercury, etc.) and environmental impacts Consumption of products is often considered out of scope since these may be accounted for by the businesses which manufacture the products Recycling is often considered a negative carbon emission due to energy not required for extraction and manufacturing in the future

Details For The RVCCC Carbon Calculator Why use the RVCCC calculator rather than others available? 1.It is helpful within a community to use a common analysis tool 2.A simple tool to get individuals/businesses started is better than a detailed method which is complex and time consuming 3.Generic tools often don’t capture local issues, for example, the predominance of coal use in SWVA for electricity

RVCCC Carbon Calculator Details This value is adjusted to better reflect Appalachian Power Co. electricity carbon intensity

RVCCC Carbon Calculator Details The critical data for transportation emission estimates is the gallons of fuel used

RVCCC Carbon Calculator Details A business carbon calculator under development has less subjective treatment of these categories

RVCCC Carbon Calculator Details Carbon offsets allow an individual or business to pay money toward a project which will “offset” a specific amount of carbon emissions A few of options exist for carbon offsets include: –RVCCC will donate a CFL as a carbon offset at a price of ~$7/ton –Carbonfund.org allows choice of reforestation, wind power, or energy efficiency carbon offsets at a cost of ~$5.50/ton –TerraPass.com allows a choice of wind power, animal wastes for farm energy, and landfill methane capture for carbon offsets at a cost of ~$10/ton Carbon offsets have some concerns and controversy: –It can be challenging to verify the offset –It can be argued that carbon offsets do not promote carbon emission reductions –It can be argued that carbon offsets promote needed funds for alternative technologies

RVCCC Carbon Calculator Example Different individuals and businesses will have different profiles It is generally difficult to understand these issues without real data and analysis Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition - Carbon Footprint Calculator CategoriesEnter Data Calculation Factors (lbs CO2) Carbon Footprint (lbs CO2) UTILITIES Kilowatt Hours Used Natural Gas - Therms TRANSPORTATION Vehicle #1 - MPG25 Miles Driven Vehicle #2 - MPG27 Miles Driven Air travel person miles WASTE DISPOSAL # of people in household2 Consumption Profile4 4 - "Waste not, want not"1500 % waste recycled Subtotal37689 Pounds of CO2 reduce by carbon offsets 0 CARBON FOOTPRINT (tons) 18.8

RVCCC vs. EPA Carbon Calculator Check Differences: –No airline travel in EPA calculator –EPA calculator uses energy costs (electricity, natural gas, fuel oil) rather than actual fuel values –EPA calculator has more recycling details, but different approach to consumption US EPA: Personal Emissions Calculator

Group Activity Questions?

EPA Regulated Air Pollutants Primary StandardsSecondary Standards PollutantLevelAveraging TimeLevelAveraging Time Carbon Monoxide 9 ppm (10 mg/m 3 )8-hour (1) None 35 ppm (40 mg/m 3 )1-hour (1) Lead1.5 µg/m 3 Quarterly AverageSame as Primary Nitrogen Dioxide0.053 ppm (100 µg/m 3 )Annual (Arith. Mean)Same as Primary Particulate Matter (PM 10 )150 µg/m 3 24-hour (2) Same as Primary Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 )15.0 µg/m 3 Annual (3) (Arith. Mean)Same as Primary 35 µg/m 3 24-hour (4) Same as Primary Ozone0.075 ppm (2008 std)8-hour (5) Same as Primary 0.08 ppm (1997 std)8-hour (6) Same as Primary 0.12 ppm1-hour (7) (limited areas)Same as Primary Sulfur Dioxide 0.03 ppmAnnual (Arith. Mean)0.5 ppm (1300 µg/m 3 ) 3-hour (1) 0.14 ppm24-hour (1) Carbon dioxide is currently not regulated Most air pollutants come from combustion of fuels National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

Carbon Dioxide Atmospheric Concentrations