Agenda 11-02-23; 6-a - Orange County Climate Action Plan and Greenhouse Gas Inventory

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94 Introductory Summary This inventory was performed using the U.S. Community Protocol Version 1.2, as developed by ICLEI and updated for this specific GHG accounting exercise in July 2019. Inventory emissions were calculated using best practices and were based on 2019 data gathered from the County. These "usage" data were assigned an appropriate emission factor to arrive at a figure for emissions emitted. The calculations took place within the ICLEI ClearPath tool. ClearPath assists in GHG accounting and management at the community and municipal levels. Emission factors were compiled from 2019 data and information from the federal Environmental Protection Agency GHG Emission Factors Hub 3 utilized in the ICLEI ClearPath tool. As a result, this report compiles data from the County and models GHGs to provide an accurate depiction of the County's real-world emissions. It also identifies key areas to focus on for strategy development and program creation to reduce emissions in the County. Finally, it serves as an update to the County's existing GHG inventories completed in 2005 and 2017.4 Previous Inventories and Climate Resolutions Fortwo decades,Orange County has been actively striving to reduce carbon emissions. The County's first GHG inventory was conducted in 20055 and the second in 2017. The present inventory, therefore, builds upon previous work to provide useful data on how the County is progressing towards reducing carbon emissions. On June 6, 2017, Orange County Board of County Commissioners adopted a resolution to uphold the Paris Climate Agreement, committing to reduce GHG emissions between 26 and 28 percent by 2025 from 2005 levels and on September 5, 2017,the Board made an additional commitment to transition to a 100% renewable energy-oriented economy by 2050. These resolutions demonstrate the County's leadership towards climate action by creating informed decisions based on data contained in GHG inventories. Several important comparisons can be made across sectors between 2005, 2017 and today, despite the fact that not all sectors were consistently measured over the years. Specifically,comparisons can be drawn between residential,commercial,and industrial energy, transportation, and solid waste. As shown in figure 3, these sectors have experienced significant emission reductions since 2005. In 2005, Orange County was responsible for emissions amounting to 2.8 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. In 2017 emissions in Orange County had fallen to 1.78 million tons of CO2e. By 2019, emissions fell further, to 1.63 million tons of CO2e, a decrease of 40.7% between 2005 and 2019. 3 https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/ghg-emission-factors-hub 4 https://www.orangecountync.gov/DocumentCenter/View/10049/ Orange-County-Greenhouse-Gas-Inventory-2017 5 https://www.orangecountync.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2002/ Greenhouse-Gas-Emissions-Inventory-and-Forecast-PDF 3 ORANGE COUNTY, NC • APPENDICES