Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory
A GHG emissions inventory is one of the key baseline analyses that will help inform our activities under the Sustainability Plan . According to the International Civil Aviation Organization , 4.8 billion passengers flew on scheduled commercial flights in 2018 in addition to 58 million tons of freight . 45 However , along with these impressive numbers comes the detrimental environmental impacts of airline flight , including the significant emissions of heat-trapping , global GHGs , including CO 2 . The aviation industry was responsible for approximately 2.4 % of global CO 2 emissions in 2018 . 46 Accounting for additional airline flight impacts ( i . e ., contrails , other GHG emissions , etc .), the industry ’ s total contribution to global emissions approaches 5 %. 47 The aviation industry in the United States is responsible for upwards of 20 – 25 % of this global amount . According to the EPA , the aviation industry in the United States accounts for 3 % of total national GHG emissions and 12 % of emissions by the transportation sector in general . 48
While the airlines that operate these aircraft are responsible for their emissions , many of our peers in the U . S . airport industry are already tracking GHG emissions both inside and outside their operational control boundary . Of those , many have established emissions reductions targets , and a few have even achieved carbon neutrality . While many of the investments described throughout this Sustainability Plan will result in lower GHG emissions , up until now , the Authority has not completed a comprehensive GHG inventory . However , as part of our focus on sustainability , we recently commissioned a GHG inventory to establish a baseline for what are called Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions . These categories are defined under what is known as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol 49 and they can be summarized as follows :
Scope 1 emissions occur directly from sources that are owned or controlled by the Authority . Our Scope 1 emissions are primarily the use of natural gas for space and water heating , our diesel and CNG bus fleets , the PTVs at Dulles International , our vehicle fleet , diesel GPUs and PCA units , diesel generators , propane use , and refrigerants .
Scope 2 emissions occur indirectly from the production of the electricity which the Authority purchases from Dominion Energy to power our on-site operations .
Scope 3 emissions occur indirectly because of the activities of the Authority but occur from sources outside of our boundary of ownership and control . The primary source of Scope 3 emissions for any airport are those generated by airline jet fuel use . However , other sources include the electricity and natural gas used by our tenants , the offsite disposal of our garbage , private transportation used by our employees and customers to get to and from the airport , and hotel shuttles .
With this first inventory , our initial focus is upon the emissions we can influence ( Scopes 1 and 2 ), and then encouraging and supporting our tenants in their pursuit of Scope 3 emission reductions . With an
https :// ghgprotocol . org /.
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