2012 Seattle Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory

The 2012 Seattle Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, prepared by the Stockholm Environment Institute, analyzes emissions from 1990 to 2012. It distinguishes between 'core' emissions (road transportation, building energy, and waste) and 'expanded' emissions (including industry, air, marine, and rail travel). The report finds that while absolute core emissions declined slightly, per person emissions dropped significantly despite population and job growth.

• Seattle's core greenhouse gas emissions—comprising road transportation, building energy, and waste—declined by 4% from 1990 to 2012 after accounting for offsets purchased by Seattle City Light, falling from approximately 3.8 million metric tons to 3.6 million metric tons.
• On a per person basis, core greenhouse gas emissions in Seattle decreased by 22% between 1990 and 2012, and by 6% between 2008 and 2012. These per person core emissions are approximately half the national average and one-third lower than the average for King County residents living outside Seattle.
• Road transportation is the largest contributor to core emissions, accounting for 64% of the total in 2012. While total road transportation emissions increased by 9% since 1990 (by 193,000 metric tons CO2) due to population and economic growth, vehicle emissions per person declined by 11%.
• Building energy emissions decreased by 15% (222,000 metric tons CO2) from 1990 to 2012, with a 31% decline on a per person basis. This reduction is attributed to the transition of Seattle City Light away from coal and gas, energy efficiency upgrades, a shift from oil to natural gas for home heating, and an increase in residents living in smaller, multi-family dwellings.
• Waste emissions declined by 22% (27,000 metric tons CO2) from 1990 to 2012, and by 37% on a per person basis, driven by increased recycling and composting and decreased waste generation.
• In the expanded view of the inventory, which includes industry, marine, rail, air travel, yard equipment, and wastewater treatment, total emissions in 2012 were 6.0 million tons CO2e after offsets. This represents a 1% reduction from 1990 to 2012, falling short of the Kyoto Protocol target of 7% below 1990 levels.
• The expanded inventory shows that population and economic growth would have increased emissions by over 1 million metric tons CO2e if not for efficiency improvements. Additionally, the replacement of ozone-depleting refrigerants with hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) added 230,000 tons CO2e to emissions.
• Industrial emissions in the expanded view were influenced by cement production, which saw emissions drop from 417,000 metric tons CO2e in 1990 to 307,000 metric tons CO2e in 2012. The report notes these are heavily influenced by market forces beyond city control.
• Seattle's recycling program provides a significant GHG benefit; in 2012, the emissions avoided through recycling (including avoided manufacturing of new materials) totaled 537,000 metric tons CO2e.
• The City's 2013 Climate Action Plan sets targets to reduce core emissions by 58% by 2030 and 87% by 2050, relative to 2008 levels, to achieve carbon neutrality (zero net emissions) by 2050.

APA

Erickson, P., & Tempest, K. (2014). 2012 Seattle Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/Seattle-2012-GHG-inventory-report.pdf

Chicago

Erickson, Peter, and Kevin Tempest. 2012 Seattle Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2014. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/Seattle-2012-GHG-inventory-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Erickson |first1=Peter |last2=Tempest |first2=Kevin |title=2012 Seattle Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=April 2014 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/Seattle-2012-GHG-inventory-report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{erickson20142012, author = {Erickson, Peter and Tempest, Kevin}, title = {{2012 Seattle Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2014}, month = apr, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/Seattle-2012-GHG-inventory-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }