County inventories show sizable decline in greenhouse gas emissions

The first inventories of greenhouse gases in Travis County show declining emissions in all sectors except one.

The inventories completed in 2019 and 2021 list the total emissions of greenhouse gases created in the county. They show an overall drop of 20.3 percent from 2019 to 2021. Of the seven sectors inventoried, only water/wastewater increased. It jumped by 15.18 percent.

This was due to population growth in rural areas and the accompanying growth in septic systems, Max Morales, Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources environmental resilience specialist, said in an Oct. 5 presentation of the inventories to the Travis County Commissioners Court.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Brigid Shea noted that “in septic systems it’s probably harder to capture, whereas with large municipal wastewater treatment systems, you have the means of capturing methane.”

Despite the increase, water/wastewater is a small contributor to the county’s total emissions, just 4.4 percent in 2021. Transportation and mobile sources accounted for the most emissions, but declined by 13.9 percent in 2021. The presentation noted that the pandemic likely influenced consumption in several sectors.

The largest decreases were in industrial energy, which dropped by 40.5 percent, and commercial energy, which dropped by 35.8 percent.

“The use of energy in buildings is consistently the largest or one of the largest in every inventory,” Shea said. “That’s why energy efficiency is so important.”

Wind and solar play a part as well, Morales said.

“One of the big reasons we’re on a downward trend in emissions is due to Austin Energy’s investment in decarbonizing their energy portfolio, so investing more in wind and solar,” he said.

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license. 

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