Measuring emissions is crucial for managing the county’s contributions to climate change. A greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory measures total energy consumption and GHG emissions in two categories: government operations and the community at large. It identifies the greatest opportunities to reduce impacts while simultaneously pursuing more efficient use of energy.
While the county completed GHG inventories in 2005, 2008 and 2010, the 2012 GHG Emissions Inventory is a significant milestone for documenting the county’s progress toward sustainability and determining next steps.
Government Operations Since 2005, the county has shown significant progress in reducing GHG emissions in all sectors of its operations. It has already exceeded the reduction targets established in its Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy of 2011 to reduce GHG by 20% by 2020, using 2005 data as the baseline.
Government buildings and facilities produce nearly 65% of the county government’s GHG emissions.
Monroe County can claim success in its own energy efficiency efforts, and should also support energy efficiency improvements at other facilities that use large amounts of energy, like the Gato Building, Marathon Government Center and Annex, and the airport terminals.
CommunitiesCommunity emissions decreased in all sectors, and have surpassed the 20% reduction target. This reduction includes a one-time transition from landfilling all municipal solid waste to incinerating the most of the waste in a waste-to-energy facility. Iit will be challenging to identify additional actions that can reduce emissions at comparable levels.
Commercial electricity use dropped significantly between 2008 and 2010, but has been climbing back to pre-recession levels since 2010. Similarly, the large contribution of the transportation sector to community emissions shows the potential for community-scale reductions if efforts are made to reduce vehicle miles traveled and shift to alternative fuels.
