GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

Summary

The burning of fossil fuel and wood produces greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming. As energy consumption in Washington State has increased, so have greenhouse gas emissions. In 1993 greenhouse gas emissions due to energy consumption were 53 percent greater than 1970 levels. The increase in emissions was due to the continued dependence in Washington State on fossil fuels, particularly petroleum. Over 90 percent of the growth in primary energy consumption from 1983 to 1993 was due to increased use of petroleum, coal, natural gas, and wood, the energy sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Over half the greenhouse gas emissions were from the consumption of petroleum. Production of electricity from hydroelectric and nuclear power plants produces no greenhouse gas emissions, but consumption from these sources has remained relatively constant.

	Petroleum	Wood	Coal	Natural Gas	Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Washington	Greenhouse Gas Emissions per Energy Consumption
Year	thousand tons	thousand tons	thousand tons	thousand tons	thousand tons	tons/GBtu
1970	34,142	11,774	595	9,210	55,720	63
1971	34,575	11,932	649	9,619	56,775	63
1972	36,058	11,922	3,713	10,466	62,159	65
1973	37,184	11,853	6,595	12,103	67,735	68
1974	35,524	11,643	5,498	11,134	63,799	66
1975	35,792	11,283	7,738	9,966	64,779	68
1976	36,550	12,541	8,242	9,014	66,348	68
1977	39,087	13,707	10,392	8,676	71,863	72
1978	41,221	14,090	8,600	7,760	71,672	69
1979	41,520	13,103	10,049	9,658	74,330	69
1980	41,118	12,737	9,232	7,884	70,971	69
1981	40,771	12,970	9,223	7,635	70,600	66
1982	39,632	12,949	7,518	6,659	66,757	66
1983	35,342	13,382	8,141	6,507	63,372	65
1984	40,680	13,768	8,352	7,681	70,481	66
1985	41,617	14,043	9,507	8,147	73,314	68
1986	46,999	14,011	6,423	7,088	74,522	66
1987	47,729	13,880	9,714	7,921	79,243	69
1988	49,700	14,000	10,059	8,765	82,523	68
1989	50,548	14,119	9,839	9,777	84,284	68
1990	51,352	13,745	8,686	9,755	83,539	66
1991	51,036	13,651	9,049	10,380	84,117	65
1992	55,241	13,482	10,768	10,170	89,661	68
1993	49,790	13,314	9,929	11,973	85,005	66
Sources: Consumption -- Energy Information Administration; Emission Factors -- U.S. Department of Energy

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Why Select This Indicator?

Trends in greenhouse gas emissions give an indication of the impacts of energy consumption on one important environmental concern -- global warming. The trends show how changes in the mix of fuels consumed in the state affect greenhouse gas emissions and whether the state is making any progress in shifting energy consumption to low emission fuels. Greenhouse gas emissions are represented by the amount of carbon dioxide produced during the combustion of energy fuels. Note that greenhouse gas emissions are derived from primary energy consumption within Washington State. This includes the consumption of fuels within the state to produce electricity for electric utilities that serve customers outside the state. It does not include the consumption of fuels outside the state to produce electricity for utilities that serve customers within the state. Also, there are a variety of greenhouse gases emitted from non-energy sources within Washington State that are not included in this indicator.

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What Are The Trends?

Greenhouse gas emissions from the consumption of fuels for energy have grown with energy consumption in the state. Emissions in 1993 were 53 percent greater than in 1970. This represents an annual growth rate of approximately 1.9 percent. This increase was greater than the 39 percent increase in primary fuel consumption during the same period.

The majority of greenhouse gas emissions were due to the consumption of petroleum. The share of emissions from petroleum consumption remained relatively stable -- it was 61 percent in 1970 and 59 percent in 1993. The shares of greenhouse gas emissions from wood, coal, and natural gas were similar, ranging from 12 to 16 percent in 1993. These shares have been relatively stable since the mid-1970s.

Greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy consumed peaked in 1977 following the start up of the Centralia coal-fired electricity generation plant and the corresponding jump in coal consumption. The indicator declined through the early 1980s when the hydroelectric share of electricity generation peaked.

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What Does It Mean?

The trends in greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumption illustrate that Washington continued to be dependent on fossil fuels throughout the 1970 to 1993 period. The emissions per unit of energy consumption did not decline. Almost all the growth in primary energy consumption came from fossil fuels -- petroleum, coal, wood, and natural gas. The share of consumption from renewable energy sources like hydroelectricity that produce no greenhouse gas emissions declined. This resulted in growth of greenhouse gas emissions that exceeded growth in energy consumption.

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About the Data

Greenhouse gas emissions are estimated using emission factors for carbon dioxide from the US Department of Energy. The emission factors for each fuel are multiplied by the amount of primary fuel consumed to get the greenhouse emissions resulting from the consumption of that fuel. Energy consumption data are from the Energy Information Administration. Primary energy consumption includes wood consumption which is based on Washington State Energy Office estimates.

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