Taking Credit for GHG Emissions Reduction Activities of theEPA's State and Local Capacity Building Branch

摘要

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) State and Local Capacity BuildingBranch (SLCBB) contains programs that help states voluntarily develop and implementcomprehensive environmental programs at the state and local levels intended to reduce airpollution, improve energy efficiency, promote economic development and reduce greenhousegas (GHG) emissions. Throughout the 1990s, the Branch worked with state and localgovernments to achieve GHG emissions reductions through the provision of information aboutclimate change impacts and mitigation opportunities, guidance documents, outreach andmarketing support, and financial assistance to conduct analysis or demonstration projects1.Each year the EPA prepares an Annual Performance Plan and Congressional Justificationas part of its proposed budget. One of the EPA's strategic goals contained in this report is"Reduction of Global and Cross-Border Environmental Risks". Programs designed to reach thisgoal include those with the objective to "Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions". The programsdesigned to meet this objective for which performance measures are calculated include EPA'sbuildings, industry, and transportation sector programs, as well as the carbon removal,international capacity building, global change research, and state and local programs. Annualmetric tons of carbon equivalent savings from these programs are documented in each year'sAnnual Performance Plan.Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was commissioned by EPA's SLCBB to developand implement a methodology for calculating the GHG emissions reductions in each partnerstate and locality that can be attributed to SLCBB capacity building efforts, specifically to avoid"double-counting" with other EPA programs. This paper provides a description of themethodology, issues encountered, and results of estimating GHG emissions reductions attributedto the SLCBB for 2000, 2001, and 2002.