University City Greenhouse Gas Report

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Introduction Executive Summary In 2009, the University City, Missouri City Council adopted a resolution that recognized the performance of a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Inventory as a necessary first step in reaffirming its commitment to integrate sustainability in its decisions, actions, activities, purchases and community outreach. The culmination of this report, completed with the assistance of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, marks the beginning of the City’s efforts to identify and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In order to make the best decisions to reduce the community and the City’s ecological footprint (carbon, methane, water, and natural resource use), some preliminary evaluative measures must be taken. It is a typical planning approach (evaluate, plan, implement, evaluate). Thus it is standard protocol to assess the existing carbon footprint of the city in order make specific sustainability decisions and then measure the impact of actions taken. There are two primary measurements that must be assessed: the greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and energy audits of city facilities. The first will look at the City’s greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the community’s. A subset of the first is to have energy audits conducted at each of the City’s facilities. Through knowledge of the sources of our emissions and energy usage, better and more informed decisions about capital improvements, behavior changes and policy can be made. Based on data about where we are currently, the ultimate goal of the Green Practices Committee is to devise a sustainability plan that leads our community to have zero impact on the earth. While it may seem like the actions of one community cannot change the global climate, it is the Green Practices Committee’s belief that if each community measures its greenhouse gas emissions and takes immediate action to curtail activities that cause increased emissions, that we will indeed affect climate change for the better. University City aspires to be the leader in community sustainability and as such should set the protocol in the actions it takes to reduce the community’s carbon footprint. The first step is to measure exactly where we are through a greenhouse gas inventory. The baseline of data will inform policy, decisions and actions taken by the City and the community. As an example, Creve Coeur performed their greenhouse gas inventory and found, to their surprise, that much of the traffic related emissions are not from its three major thoroughfares (I-270, Lindbergh and Olive), but from the 99 miles of collector streets. Without this information, the City of Creve Coeur may have approached their plan for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in a completely different manner. Major Findings Community Emissions Inventory In the year 2005, the community of University City emitted approximately 514,363 metric tons of COe. As shown in Table 1, and Figure 1 below, the Residential sector was the largest 2 emitter, producing approximately 44.8 percent of the total community emissions in 2005. The 2010-2011 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, City of University City, MO 5