With an ambitious Climate Action Plan to reduce countywide emissions in half by 2030, the Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change is seeking to better understand the full scope of emissions that can be attributed to its residents and businesses. EAP students Erin Bulson (Civil and Environmental Engineering), Rishika Tumula (Urban and Regional Planning), Richard Imagwe (Electrical Engineering), and Samuel Garcia (Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics) advised that consumption-based emissions inventories (CBEIs) should be involved in periodic emission analyses, recommending practices that will lead the county to a more successful and comprehensive Climate Action Plan.
Consumption-based emissions inventories (CBEIs) account for the full life cycle of a product or service, in contrast to production-based inventories, which only account for emissions produced within a certain geographic area. Thus, CBEIs can reveal critical information to help guide policies, programs, and incentives for emissions reductions that may otherwise be unaccounted for. Because most products consumed in Dane County are produced elsewhere, a CBEI can help the county identify and reduce emissions that occur outside its borders.
These findings are based on an extensive literature review that involved articles published by EcoDataLab, the most prolific CBEI accounting firm for many municipalities in the United States. It was found that municipalities that include CBEIs as part of their reporting requirements often found emissions were between 20-400% larger than traditional inventories, depending on socioeconomic features like income, household size, and population density. Overall, with looming emissions goals on the horizon, it is important to identify sources of emissions accurately and fairly to fulfill all the priorities and commitments of Dane County’s Climate Action Plan.
Client
Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change
Team
Faculty Mentor
Morgan Edwards, La Follette School of Public Affairs
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