Seattle, WA- Today, the City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability & Environment (OSE) released the 2022 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory. The findings show core City emissions increased approximately 4% since the 2020 inventory, which saw a large pandemic-induced drop in climate pollution. Overall, emissions have declined 12% from the 2008 baseline, with population increasing 26% during the same period. The report and full screen data visualizations are available on OSE’s website.
“Seattle’s economy boomed from 2020 to 2022, with a 22% increase in economic growth. We rebounded from pandemic shutdowns by getting folks back to work, activating downtown, and welcoming visitors back to our city,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell. “Growth is essential for cities, but it must be balanced with smart policies that reduce emissions and prepare our infrastructure for climate-fueled extreme weather. Seattle will continue to work with our local, regional, and state partners to accelerate climate solutions that strengthen our city, grow our clean energy workforce, and build more resilient communities.”
Seattle conducts GHG inventories on a biennial basis (every two years) to report on the sources and magnitude of GHG emissions over three key core sectors: transportation, buildings, and waste. Key findings include:
- Transportation (58% of core emissions): 4% increase in GHG emissions. While vehicle efficiency improved, the primary driver for the emissions, vehicle miles traveled, increased nearly 9%. Likely contributors include increased business and employee activity, travel, and tourism. Transit ridership has also been gradually increasing since the low-point of the pandemic.
- Buildings (40% of core emissions): 6% increase in GHG emissions. Emissions from residential and commercial gas and electricity both rose by a few percentage points, with nearly all emissions in buildings coming from burning fossil gas. Extreme weather and pandemic-induced consumption changes likely had an important role. There were 15% more cooling degree days and 13% more heating degree days in 2022 versus 2020.
- Waste (2% of core emissions): 7% increase in GHG emissions. 2022 saw significant emissions increase in in emissions associated with waste brought by customers directly to the city’s transfer stations (approximately 40%). This was caused by increased disposal of materials that should have been recycled or composted and by more waste coming from outside Seattle to the city’s transfer stations.
In the past few years, the City has implemented and expanded several significant policies and programs to reduce emissions from buildings, making their results not yet reflected in the 2022 GHG inventory. The Building Emission Performance Standards (BEPS) and the expanded residential and business Clean Heat Program are projected to reduce building emissions a combined 35% by 2050. OSE and Capital departments are working to release a detailed schedule for fully decarbonizing all municipal buildings by 2042 and accelerating building decarbonization by leveraging new funding opportunities through Washington State’s Climate Commitment Act.
“Climate touches all parts of City planning, from making our air cleaner and reducing food waste, to making our buildings and transportation systems more climate resilient,” said Jessyn Farrell, Director of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability & Environment. “Seattle’s BEPS and Clean Heat programs are examples of policies that are starting to reduce emissions in the long-term, while making residents safer amid harmful climate impacts. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with City departments, business leaders, and community organizations to drive innovative, hard-hitting climate policy while preparing residents for the extreme weather events that are already here.”
The City is also developing policies and programs aimed at reducing emissions from the transportation sector, including infrastructure to increase walking, biking, and transit, electrifying vehicles for people, goods, and services, as well as improving air quality.
Following the passage of the $1.55 billion transportation levy in November, the City will identify projects and programs to accelerate based on their potential impact. This may include, but are not limited to, Low-Pollution Neighborhoods, transportation electrification efforts, and other efforts to expand access to transportation choices while curbing pollution. Additionally, Sound Transit 3 will expand Link light rail service to Ballard and West Seattle.
“Making our transportation system more sustainable is an essential part of the One Seattle plan to improve environmental health, reduce emissions, and address the climate crisis” said SDOT Climate Officer Radcliffe Dacanay. “Thanks to Seattle voters who overwhelmingly passed the 2024 Transportation Levy, we are increasing our investments to make it easier for people to get around with more travel options, build electric vehicle charging stations, create low-pollution neighborhoods, and plant trees along more streets throughout Seattle.”
To reduce waste, Seattle Public Utilities is deploying advanced waste reduction policies, programs, and services with a focus on minimizing environmental impacts. SPU is expanding food waste prevention and increasing participation in composting, deconstruction, and reuse programs. Seattle will increase access to reusable food service items in more locations throughout the City, including Seattle Center, in the lead-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“As an essential service provider, SPU is working to address climate change and reduce our emissions for Seattle-area residents and the environment,” said Andrew Lee, General Manager and CEO of Seattle Public Utilities. “Our efforts include innovative projects and initiatives such as our investments in a salvaged lumber warehouse to support reusing building materials and our participation in the City’s Food Action Plan to prevent food waste going to landfill. We are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in our operations and for the diverse communities we serve.”
For more information and data visualizations for the 2022 GHG Inventory, visit the OSE website. OSE also updates a map-based website to provide more frequent and granular data indicators of emissions in Seattle’s neighborhoods.
Early next year, Mayor Harrell will announce an Executive Order to respond to our City’s current and future climate challenges with a focus on climate justice, reducing GHG emissions, building climate resilience, and growing a green economy. The State Department of Ecology plans to publish its statewide 2020-2021 GHG inventory this month, King County regularly assesses its GHG emissions, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released 2021-2022 state-level data earlier this year.