King County Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The report finds that King County's 2008 emissions were 23.4 million MTCO2e via geographic accounting and 55 million MTCO2e via consumption accounting. Transportation and buildings are the primary local sources, while consumption-based emissions are driven by imported goods and services. The report recommends a 'Core' tracking framework focusing on buildings, transportation, and waste.

• In the 2008 Geographic-plus Inventory, total GHG emissions were 23.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e), representing a 5 percent increase from 22.4 million MTCO2e in 2003. However, per person emissions remained stable during this period.
• King County's per person GHG emissions of 12.4 MTCO2e are 20 percent lower than the Washington State average (15.5 MTCO2e) and approximately half the United States average (23.4 MTCO2e). This is largely attributed to the region's low-GHG hydropower electricity and its specific industrial mix.
• Transportation is the primary source of emissions in the Geographic-plus Inventory, accounting for 6.0 MTCO2e per person. Cars and trucks are the largest contributor at 4.7 MTCO2e per person, followed by air travel at 1.2 MTCO2e per person.
• Buildings (residential and commercial) are the second largest emission source, contributing 4.3 MTCO2e per person. These emissions are significantly lower than the national average due to the region's low-GHG electricity supply.
• Between 2003 and 2008, per-person GHG emissions from cars and light trucks declined by 11 percent, driven by a 5 percent increase in fuel efficiency and a 7 percent decrease in vehicle travel per person.
• The 2008 Consumption-based Inventory estimated total emissions at 55 million MTCO2e, or 29 MTCO2e per person. This is more than twice the Geographic-plus figure and approximately four times the global average.
• In the Consumption-based Inventory, personal transportation remains the largest category (16%), but is closely followed by food (14%), goods such as electronics and furniture (14%), and services such as banking and healthcare (14%).
• Over 60 percent of consumption-based emissions are associated with the production of goods and services, while over 25 percent result from their use. Transporting, selling, and disposing of these items account for less than 15 percent.
• Approximately 75 percent of emissions associated with King County's consumption occur outside the county, with about 25 percent occurring internationally.
• Recycling and composting programs in King County avoided approximately 2.0 million MTCO2e in 2008 compared to a scenario of 100 percent disposal, which is 0.7 million MTCO2e better than national average rates.
• King County forests sequester a net of approximately 0.4 million MTCO2e annually, which is roughly 2 percent of the county's total emissions.
• The report recommends a tracking framework divided into three scopes: a 'Core' scope (buildings, transportation, and waste) to be tracked annually, and 'Expanded Production' and 'Expanded Consumption' scopes to be tracked every three to five years.

APA

Chandler, C., Erickson, P., Somerville, M. L., Bueno, R., Cegan, J., Munitz, C., & Stanton, E. A. (2012). King County Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/sei-kingcounty-ghg-2008-full.pdf

Chicago

Chandler, Chelsea, Peter Erickson, Michael Lazarus Somerville, Ramón Bueno, Jeffrey Cegan, Charles Munitz, and Elizabeth A. Stanton. King County Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2012. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/sei-kingcounty-ghg-2008-full.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chandler |first1=Chelsea |last2=Erickson |first2=Peter |last3=Somerville |first3=Michael Lazarus |last4=Bueno |first4=Ramón |last5=Cegan |first5=Jeffrey |last6=Munitz |first6=Charles |last7=Stanton |first7=Elizabeth A. |title=King County Greenhouse Gas Emissions |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=February 2012 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/sei-kingcounty-ghg-2008-full.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chandler2012king, author = {Chandler, Chelsea and Erickson, Peter and Somerville, Michael Lazarus and Bueno, Ramón and Cegan, Jeffrey and Munitz, Charles and Stanton, Elizabeth A.}, title = {{King County Greenhouse Gas Emissions}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2012}, month = feb, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate-mitigation-adaptation/sei-kingcounty-ghg-2008-full.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }