by Iowa Department of Natural Resources
According to the DNR’s legislatively mandated “2013 Iowa Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report,” Iowa greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) decreased for the second year in a row, decreasing 0.51 percent from 2012 levels and decreasing 6.78 percent from their peak in 2007.
According to the DNR’s legislatively mandated “2013 Iowa Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report,” Iowa greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) decreased for the second year in a row, decreasing 0.51 percent from 2012 levels and decreasing 6.78 percent from their peak in 2007.
The decrease in statewide emissions was primarily from a decrease in emissions from electric power generation: emissions were down 7.37 percent in 2013 and down 21.76 from their peak in 2010.
The percentage of electricity generated in Iowa from coal has decreased from 78 percent in 2005 to 59 percent in 2013. The percentage generated from wind increased from 4 percent to 28 percent in the same period.
Iowans emitted an average of 42.13 metric tons of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide equivalents) per person in 2013. According to the EPA equivalencies calculator (www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html), that’s like sending 15.1 tons of waste to the landfill instead of recycling. Another way to view it is that 1,080 tree seedlings grown 10 years sequester the amount of carbon emitted by one Iowan’s actions in 2013.
This is the eighth greenhouse gas inventory conducted for Iowa. Its purpose is to track emissions trends and develop baselines to track progress in reducing emissions. The complete report is at www.iowadnr.gov/InsideDNR/RegulatoryAir/
GreenhouseGasEmissions/GHGInventories.aspx.
The inventory is a policy-neutral calculation of Iowa greenhouse gas emissions in 2013, which includes sectors of agriculture, fossil fuel combustion, industrial processes, natural gas transmission and distribution, transportation, and waste. It also includes carbon sinks and emissions from land use, land use change and forestry.
MEDIA CONTACT: Marnie Stein, Environmentalist Specialist Senior, 515-725-9555, Marnie.Stein@dnr.iowa.gov
The percentage of electricity generated in Iowa from coal has decreased from 78 percent in 2005 to 59 percent in 2013. The percentage generated from wind increased from 4 percent to 28 percent in the same period.
Iowans emitted an average of 42.13 metric tons of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide equivalents) per person in 2013. According to the EPA equivalencies calculator (www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html), that’s like sending 15.1 tons of waste to the landfill instead of recycling. Another way to view it is that 1,080 tree seedlings grown 10 years sequester the amount of carbon emitted by one Iowan’s actions in 2013.
This is the eighth greenhouse gas inventory conducted for Iowa. Its purpose is to track emissions trends and develop baselines to track progress in reducing emissions. The complete report is at www.iowadnr.gov/InsideDNR/RegulatoryAir/
GreenhouseGasEmissions/GHGInventories.aspx.
The inventory is a policy-neutral calculation of Iowa greenhouse gas emissions in 2013, which includes sectors of agriculture, fossil fuel combustion, industrial processes, natural gas transmission and distribution, transportation, and waste. It also includes carbon sinks and emissions from land use, land use change and forestry.
MEDIA CONTACT: Marnie Stein, Environmentalist Specialist Senior, 515-725-9555, Marnie.Stein@dnr.iowa.gov
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