2007 GHG Emission Inventory & Reduction Targets

To ensure that the community stays on course to meet its aggressive GHG reduction target, it is necessary to track our progress by conducting regular, community-wide and GHG emissions inventories. It helps to think of the inventory as a “snapshot” of our community’s GHG emissions for a given year. It identifies the major sources and quantity of GHG emissions produced by residents, businesses, and public institutions. In 2007 Burlington emitted approximately 392,288 equivalent tons of CO2. The chart below illustrates these emissions by sector.

Community-Wide GHG Emissions per sector (2007)

Residential 20.9%; Commercial 22.1%; Industrial 15.9%; Transportation 39.0%; Waste 2.1%

The inventory reflects the emissions that result from motor vehicles driven and electricity and natural gas consumed within Burlington city limits. While there are important limitations in the inventory methodology, it does serve as a useful tool for tracking community emissions over time and for targeting climate protection strategies to address the main emissions sources.

The inventory also identified emissions generated by City government owned buildings, vehicle fleet, water and wastewater facilities, employee commute, street and traffic lights, etc. In 2007 Burlington city government emitted approximately 21,977 equivalent tons of CO2. The chart below illustrates these emissions by sector.

City Government GHG Emissions per sector (2007)

Buildings and Facilities 19.6%; Streetlights and Traffic Signals 6.3%; Airport Facilities 37.0%; Water Delivery Facilities 5.6%; Wastewater Facilities 6.2%; Solid Waste Facilities 2.9%; Vehicle Fleet 7.8%; Employee Commute 13.5%; Electric Power 1.1%

In September 2008, Mayor Kiss also announced the City’s reduction targets. The City plans to reduce its emissions by 80% below 2007 levels by 2050. A shorter-term target has also been established for reducing our emissions by 20% below 2007 levels by 2020. The table below illustrates what this means for the city in terms of tons of CO2 that must be eliminated.

Equivalent tons of CO2 reduction targets for Burlington VT
2007* 2020 2050
City Government 21,977 17,582 10,989
Community-Wide 392,288 313,830 196,144
414,265 331,412 207,133

*Current inventory year = 2007.

In short, Burlington government must reduce its emissions by 4,395 equivalent tons of CO2 and its community-wide emissions by 82,853 equivalent tons of CO2 by 2020 to meet its short-term target.