Travis County Carbon Footprint
According to the ACPP annual report, the average Texan emits 27 tonnes of energy-related CO2 each year – the worst state in the union; the average American emits 20 tonnes. By contrast, the average Travis County resident emitted 14 tonnes in 2007. (That’s counting only emissions from electricity, natural gas, and transportation fuel.) While we might like to credit Austin’s eco-awareness, we do better primarily because industry (including oil and gas) does its dirty business elsewhere. The report offers no plan for cutting communitywide emissions or setting achievable reduction goals.
Travis County Community Inventory
Energy use by community residents, businesses, and industry contributed the equivalent of roughly 7.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2007. Transportation emissions totaled about 6.3 million tonnes, and waste treatment contributed another million, for a total carbon footprint of almost 15 million tonnes.
Breaking down each of these categories:
Electricity and Natural Gas Consumption
Commercial electricity 42%
Residential electricity 36%
Industrial electricity 15%
Residential natural gas 5%
Commercial natural gas 2%
Industrial natural gas <1%
Transportation Emissions
On-road 85%
Air travel 12%
Off-road 2%
Bus 1%
Train <1%
Wastewater and Landfill Emissions
Landfills* 98%
Wastewater treatment 2%
* Landfill data is about 75% complete and will rise with the addition of landfill gas data from the remaining two landfills in Travis County.
Total Emissions in Travis County, 2007: 14,953,558 tonnes
Electricity and natural gas consumption: 7,630,719
Transportation emissions: 6,305,748
Wastewater and landfill emissions: 1,017,091
City of Austin Municipal Carbon Footprint
The city’s official greenhouse-gas emissions inventory totaled about 168,000 tonnes for 2007 (totals below) – but this figure applies only to those emission sources over which city employees have some control. It doesn’t include “community demand driven services” such as power plants, the city’s now-shuttered landfill, and wastewater treatment plants – which actually produce some 97.5% of the city’s actual emissions. That footprint belongs to the end users: residents and businesses.
City of Austin Greenhouse-Gas Emissions by Source, 2007
| GHG Emission Source | CO2-Equivalent Tonnes |
| City buildings electricity use | 92,579 |
| City vehicles & off-road equipment* | 45,534 |
| Building heating* | 18,600 |
| Streetlights & traffic signals electricity use | 18,156 |
| Waste generated by city buildings | 3,608 |
| Personal-vehicle use for business purposes | 626 |
| Air conditioning refrigerants* | 606 |
| Stationary generators* | 493 |
| Total municipal emission inventory | 180,202** |
| Power plants* | 6,103,632 |
| FM 812 landfill* | 233,567 |
| Austin Water Utility electricity use | 112,883 |
| Wastewater treatment* | 16,584 |
| �Community demand driven� emissions | 6,466,666 |
* Indicates direct greenhouse-gas emissions; the others are indirect.
** For unexplained reasons, table and pie-chart figures in report don’t match.
Cumulative Greenhouse-Gas Emissions Avoided by the ACPP
(through December 2008, except where noted)
| Program/Project | CO2-Equivalent Tonnes |
| Austin Energy � Energy Generation | |
| Solar photovoltaics rebate program | *2,800 |
| City departments on GreenChoice | 33,900 |
| Austin Energy � Energy Conservation | |
| Demand side mgmt. (existing buildings) | 123,400 |
| Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure | � |
| Building code changes (new buildings) | |
| Single-family homes | 3,700 |
| Commercial and multifamily | 12,200 |
| Compact fluorescent recycling program | *200 |
| Austin Energy � Clean Cities | |
| Electric vehicle incentives | 690 |
| Austin Energy Total | 176,890 |
| Fleet Services: alternative fuel use | 1,800 |
| Solid Waste Services: single-stream recycling | 9,500 |
| Communications & technology management | 9 |
| Green purchasing | � |
| Vehicle trip reduction: i-Ride transit program | *240 |
| City Cycle bike-share program | <1 |
| Solar scooter pilot project | <1 |
| Heat Island Mitigation: NeighborWoods program | 10 |
| Large shade tree program | 2 |
| Austin Community Trees program | 1 |
| Total Other Departments | 11,563 |
| Total Avoided CO2-Equivalent Tonnes | 188,453 |
* through March 2009
This article appears in June 19 • 2009.