April 24 DEP Climate Change Committee: PA Greenhouse Gas Emissions Drop 11.37% From 2000 to 2014, Mostly Due To Replacing Coal-Fired Power Plants

The DEP Climate Change Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet on April 24 to hear presentations on DCNR’s Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Plan and the final 2017 PA Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

Also on the agenda is more discussion of the 2018 update to the PA Climate Change Action Plan.

Inventory

The PA Greenhouse Gas Inventory shows carbon dioxide equivalent reductions of 11.37 percent (304.05 to 269.47 million metric tons-- 34.58 million metric tons) from 2000 to 2014 (the latest year information is available).

A very significant portion of those reductions came from the replacement of coal-fired power plants with natural gas in Pennsylvania.  Emissions from coal-fired plants dropped from 111.04 million metric tons to 74.68 million metric tons-- 36.36 million metric tons-- between 2000 and 2014.

The increased use of natural gas to generate electricity also increased emissions from that source from 1.13 million metric tons to 21.42 million metric tons from 2000 to 2014

These sectors decreased emissions from 2000 to 2014: Residential, Commercial, Transportation.

These sectors increased emissions from 2000 to 2014: Industrial, Agriculture, Waste.

The meeting will be held in Room 105 Rachel Carson Building starting at 10:00.  There is no provision for call-in or WebEx access to the meeting.

For more information and available handouts, visit the DEP Climate Change Advisory Committee webpage.  Questions should be directed to  John Krueger, 717-783-9264 or send email to: jkrueger@pa.gov.