2017 State of Our Environment Report
Climate Change
Figure 1. Drought and extreme temperatures increase the risk of wildfires. On
Labor Day 2011, nine major wildfires raged across Central Texas, burning 47,000
acres and destroying more than 1,800 homes.
Importance
Ten years ago, the Austin City Council
passed a groundbreaking Climate Resolution. The goal: to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Since that
time, Austin has set an aggressive net-zero goal for community-wide emissions
by 2050. Despite these efforts, impacts from climate change are already being
experienced in the form of ongoing and repeated severe weather events in Austin
and the rest of the state, such as extreme heat, drought, flooding, and
wildfire. Last year, Hurricane Harvey dropped record-breaking rainfall on
southeast Texas, flooding multiple cities and causing an estimated $180 billion
in damages. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to evacuate their
homes.
With U.S.
withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, climate action at the local level is more
important than ever. Austin has joined the international community in the fight
against climate change with participation in the C40 Cities Climate Leadership
Group, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, and the Climate
Mayors group.
Status and Trends
The Office of
Sustainability continues to track Austin’s progress toward the net-zero goal by
regularly calculating locally emitted greenhouse gases, often referred to as a carbon
footprint. The major sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Travis County are:
- electricity generation from Austin Energy, Pedernales Electric Cooperative, and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative;
- combustion of fossil fuels (primarily natural gas) by residential, commercial, and industrial buildings and facilities;
- transportation (miles driven per day and the amount of emissions per mile, based on fuel efficiency and traffic congestion);
- waste management (methane and carbon dioxide emissions from landfills); and
- industrial processes related to the semiconductor industry and lime manufacturing.
The two largest
sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Travis County are electricity generation
and transportation.
Using the most
recent data available, the 2016 Austin-Travis County greenhouse gas inventory is
calculated to be 13.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, as
shown in Figure 2. This is a slight decrease from the 2013 community-wide total
of 13.7 million metric tons.
13.5 Million Metric Tons CO2e
Figure 2. Total greenhouse gas inventory for Austin-Travis County in 2016
Figure 3 compares
emissions totals between 2013 and 2016 for each source, showing areas that have
increased and decreased.
Travis County Emissions Sectors
Figure 3. Greenhouse gas emissions comparison by sector between 2013 and 2016
Emissions from
the following sources have decreased since 2013:
- Electricity use from Austin Energy. While electricity demand has increased, the City of Austin’s commitment to an increasing portfolio of renewable and natural gas generation resulted in lower emissions.
- Transportation. A growing population resulted in additional cars on the road. However, emissions standards for vehicles have continued to improve fuel efficiency, which resulted in a slight decrease in overall emissions from transportation sources.
- Electricity use from other regional utilities. Electricity demand for other regional utilities increased four percent. Despite this increase, emissions are down five percent, mainly due to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ (ERCOT) switch from coal to natural gas fueling.
- Waste management. Private landfill operators have reduced methane emissions, likely from improved emissions capture and destruction.
- Stationary combustion. Warmer winter weather in 2016 resulted in less natural gas usage and a reduction in emissions.
Emissions increased
in one category:
- Industrial processes. While emissions in this category have increased since 2013, they still account for only seven percent of the total greenhouse gas inventory for Travis County. The increase is due to fluctuations in production, process changes, and changes in emissions accounting methods.
As shown in
Figure 4, overall greenhouse gas emissions declined, despite a rapidly growing
population. It is expected that emissions from the energy sector will continue
to drop as the Austin Energy Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan
is implemented. This plan includes the goal of 65 percent renewable energy by
2027. Strategies to reduce emissions from transportation sources will be increasingly
important to achieve Austin’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
Figure 4. Emissions and population trends for Travis County
Annual Focus
The Office of Sustainability, Austin
Energy, Austin Transportation Department, and Austin Resource Recovery continue
to lead in implementing specific actions related to emissions reduction as identified
in the Austin Community Climate Plan. Current projections based on these
activities suggest that Austin will meet the interim emissions reduction target
of 11.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2020.
Creating a more climate-resilient city is
also a recommendation from the Austin Community Climate Plan. In light of
Hurricane Harvey’s catastrophic impacts on the Texas Gulf Coast in 2017, as
well as recent record-breaking extreme weather events in Austin – including
drought (2007-2015), a heat wave (2011), wildfires (2011), and flooding (2013, 2015,
and 2016)
– increasing Austin’s resilience to climate impacts will be a point of
focus in the coming year in addition to emissions reduction.
Figure 5. Climate resilience refers to the ability to
effectively manage both immediate shocks and long-term stressors related to
climate change and weather extremes. A climate resilient Austin is prepared for
and adapted to climate-related threats.