Greenhouse Gas Emissions

What are we monitoring?

The estimated amount of greenhouse gas emissions created through energy consumption by people in the Blue Mountains Local Government Area.

The amount of greenhouse gas emissions is expressed in tonnes of "carbon dioxide equivalents" (tonnes of CO2-eq). Atmospheric gases that have an ability to absorb solar radiation (sunlight) and warm the atmosphere around them are referred to as greenhouse gases. The four most common greenhouse gases are CO2, N2O, CFC-12 and methane. CO2 has a nomimal global warming potential of one and as such is used as an index for other greenhouse gases, hence the measure 'CO2-equivalent'.

In May 2006, Blue Mountains City Council with the assistance of Omega Environmental Pty Ltd, completed the first City wide audit of energy related greenhouse gas emissions for the base year of 2001 (based on 2001 Census Data). This audit covered residential, commercial, industrial, transport and waste sectors within the City of Blue Mountains. The audit was undertaken as part of the implementation of Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) Program in the City of Blue Mountains. The CCP program is a global initiative designed to assist cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (see www.iclei.org).

What is the trend?

No trend is currently discernable from available data. Future audits will assess whether energy related greenhouse gas emissions are increasing or decreasing for the City of Blue Mountains.

For the base year of 2001 it is estimated that the residential sector was the greatest contributor to greenhouse gas emmissions arising from household consumption of electricity, natural gas and LPG.

Why is monitoring this trend important?

The 'greenhouse effect' is a naturally occurring phenomenon in which gases in the atmosphere absorb the sunlight that is reflected from the surface of the Earth (before it can escape into space). The concentration of the greenhouse gases (that produce the greenhouse effect) in the atmosphere has increased significantly since the Industrial Revolution and the recent report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) this year, states that the link between human activity and global warming is almost certain.

Greenhouse gases can be produced naturally and by industrial actitivies, mostly through the combustion of fossil fuels. Many government and communities recognise that although global warming and climate change are global issues, local action is required to reduce our emissions. By monitoring the levels of CO2-eq emissions produced within our LGA, we are able to formulate plans and actions to reduce our emissions further. Monitoring these levels allows us to see how effective our efforts have been.

Source of Data

This data is provided by Blue Mountains City Council. The data was collected as part of the achievement of Milestone 1 in the Climate Change Protection Program developed by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI).