Greenhouse Gas Inventories for Tribes

1. Greenhouse Gas Inventories for Tribes Melinda Ronca Battista, ITEP

2. GHG Emission Inventories • International Six Greenhouse Gases • Carbon Dioxide (CO2) • Methane (CH4) • Nitrous Oxide (N20) • Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) • Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) • Sulfur Hexafloride (SF6) • Last 3 mainly emitted by industrial processes

3. GHG EIs – How to Calculate • TEISS • Includes GHG emissions for many sources common on reservation • Combustion sources (CO2, CH4, N2O) • Open burning of crops and refuse (CH4) • Some wood products industry sources (CO2) • Hot mix asphalt plants (CO2, CH4) • Fires, prescribed and wildfire (CH4) • Large generators (CO2, CH4) • Calculators don’t include all 6 GHGs but will have at least 1

4. How to Calculate (cont.) • TEISS • Some sources common on tribal lands don’t produce GHGs • Road dust • Gas stations • Grain elevators • Many sources produce just PM or VOCs • TEISS wasn’t built with GHGs in mind, but AP-42 included these GHGs, so they got into TEISS • Might not be comprehensive, but gives some results

5. How to Calculate (cont.) • Climate Registry • Covers all six International GHGs • Was created as GHG EI repository • Consumers calculate GHG production • Instead of calculating for power plant… • …calculate for building or business using electricity

6. How to Calculate (cont.) • Climate Registry • Can also calculate for • Sources (power plants, boilers, etc.) • Fleets of vehicles • DIRECT EMISSIONS • Consumers calculating based on electricity or fuel use • INDIRECT EMISSIONS

7. How to Calculate (cont.) • Climate Registry (TCR) • You join TCR • Can enter data directly into online emission calculators • Will provide reports and track historic emissions (you must enter historic data) • Annual fee • $750 for governments with budgets under 20 million • $1200 for governments with budgets 20 mil to 100 mil • And on up from there

8. How to Calculate (cont.) Climate Registry • To learn more www.theclimateregistry.org • If using TCR, do regular EI in TEISS and create report for that • THEN enter data into TCR website -TWO steps-

9. GHG EIs - Reporting • EPA will require mandatory GHG reporting • Only for selected source types! • The facilities themselves will be required to calculate their emissions and report to EPA. • Owners or operators of facilities emitting more than 25,000 metric tons • That is: Boilers, engines, incinerators with maximum rated heat input capacity of more than 30 mmBtu/hr

10. GHG EIs – Reporting (cont.) • EPA’s Mandatory Reporting Rule • Owners or operators of facilities must report if emitting more than 25,000 metric tons CO2e from stationary fuel combustion • How big is that? • Emissions from annual energy use of about 2,200 homes • 58,000 barrels of oil • 131 railcars’ worth of coal

11. GHG EIs – Reporting (cont.) • What is a CO2e? • Carbon dioxide equivalent • Used because some GHG’s more powerful than others • 1 ton of methane warms as much as 19 tons of CO2 • 1 ton of SF6 warms as much as 21,682 tons of CO2 • Different compounds react to sunlight and heat from Earth differently • All GHG accounting done in CO2e

12. GHG EIs – Reporting (cont.) • Why inventory GHG if you don’t have to report? • Awareness, knowing how your activities affect climate change • Future emissions trading systems—you can’t sell if you don’t know what you’ve got • Identifying activities with biggest impacts so you know where to cut back

13. GHG EIs - Summary TEISS calculates some GHGs, but not comprehensive Tribes can use services like The Climate Registry to inventory their GHGs Must inventory and report to EPA only if you own certain kinds of facilities