Community Actions
How are our emissions changing over time?
Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Pierce County Greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories are used to determine the amount of GHG emissions generated within a specific geographic area. GHG emissions result from activities and choices made within Pierce County. For example, driving a car in Pierce County results in direct GHG emissions in Pierce County. However, the process to manufacture the car also resulted in GHG emissions generated outside of Pierce County. All emissions are significant and could be tracked, but most often jurisdictions complete inventories focused on the GHG emissions generated within their geographic area. This Plan is focused on actions and tracking of emissions occurring within the geographical boundary of Pierce County. In 2021, Pierce County partnered with four counties in the Puget Sound region to produce new GHG inventories for the year 2019 and recalculate 2015 GHG inventories using updated methods. The updated 2015 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory is the new baseline for our GHG reduction goal; the 2019 GHG Inventory and future inventories will be used to track progress and determine necessary next steps. Most of Pierce County's GHG emissions come from heating residential and commercial buildings, driving vehicles, and removing
Key Goal: Reduce communitywide GHG emissions 45% by 2030 based on 2015 baseline.
From 2015 to 2019, our county increased emissions by about 16%.
trees. While the County’s electricity supply is predominantly clean hydropower, approximately 30% is powered by natural gas and coal. Natural gas heating is common in Pierce County and represented approximately 41% of residential and commercial building emissions in 2019.[4] To meet the County goal of reducing communitywide GHG emissions 45% by 2030, our community-based actions focus on using 100% clean and renewable electricity, electrifying buildings and transportation, expanding low carbon transportation options, reducing food waste, protecting and planting trees, and conserving land. The following sections detail actions to reduce GHG emissions across six community focus areas: energy & built environment, transportation, waste reduction, nature-based climate solutions, education & outreach, and growing community capacity.
Key
Sources of GHG Emissions in Pierce County, 2019 Total= 10.8 million MTCO2e*
Solid Waste & Wastewater 4% Solid waste generation & disposal 3%, Wastewater process emissions <1%
Refrigerants 4% Land Use 28% 27% Tree loss, <1% Agriculture
Built Environment 34% Electricity 14%, Natural gas 14% Other sources 6%
Transportation 31% On-road vehicles 23%, Off-road equipment 4%, Aviation 3%, Marine vessels & rail 1%
*MTCO2e stands for metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. 11
