Town of Chapel Hill greenhouse gas emissions inventory municipal operations: 2005 through 2009

The scientific evidence of climate change is now well established and necessitates immediate local and global action. This inventory represents the most assertive carbon reduction action yet by the Town of Chapel Hill. Inventorying is where the rubber meets the road in reducing our carbon footprint. Pledges, promises, and plans garner much attention, but inventories are the direction-setters of policy. In order to successfully manage greenhouse gases, it is imperative that emissions are accurately measured. A high-quality inventory indentifies all emission sources, can inform decision makers, and will monitor reduction progress. In many ways an inventory is like a road map: the carbon landscape is revealed, different paths to reduction are identified, and decisions now come with a sense of security provided by a detailed map. Enter this report: the first comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory of municipal operations for the Town of Chapel Hill. It covers the past five calendar years from 2005 to 2009, reported annually, and now gives the town full confidence to move forward. As the first exhaustive inventory conducted for the municipal operations of the Town of Chapel Hill, this report is intended to be a solid foundation for all future town greenhouse gas inventories. Detailed explanations are offered on an array of topics from the current scientific knowledge of climate change to the intricacies of carbon accounting to the methodology of each step. This detail is further necessitated by the fact that this report includes the 2005 baseline, which will likely be referenced by all future reduction targets. Climate change, though a global issue, is still a local matter. Local governments take out the trash, turn on the streetlights, provide transportation service, and shape the character of future growth. And across America it's cities that are at the forefront of climate change action. More and more local governments are responding to climate change in two ways: 1) mitigating the effects of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the local level and 2) planning to adapt to some of the expected changes. This document speaks to the first action item: stopping the bleeding. It is the author's hope that this inventory, as an informational item, will help guide the early steps necessary to a carbon-reduced future in Chapel Hill and be an aide to all future carbon-related actions. And for the world's sake, hopefully there are many such actions.Master of City and Regional Plannin