Fig. 1: Sources of greenhouse gas emissions from URI’s four campuses based on FY09 data. Scope 1 emissions are shown in blues, scope 2 in green, and scope 3 in reds
Both emissions per capita and emissions per square foot have remained relatively stable since 1996 (Figs. 2 and 3); however, URI’s total emissions have increased over this time. This implies that the increase in emissions is directly related to an increasing population, increasing building square footage or both. For example, if URI grew by 1,000 people, annual emissions would likely increase by approximately 5,000 MTCO2e since it has been calculated that each person contributes roughly 5 MTCO2e per year. Emissions Per Capita
Emissions Per Building Square Footage
7
25
6 kgCO2e Per Square Foot
20
MTCO2e Per Capita
5 4 3 2
15
10
5
1 0
0
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
Fig. 2: URI’s estimated emissions per capita between 1996 and 2009.
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
Fig 3: URI’s estimated emissions per square foot between 1996 and 2009 includes both operations and commuting emissions
CURRENT AND RECENT EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS TANGIBLE ACTIONS One of the initial requirements of the ACUPCC is to immediately implement two or more tangible actions from a list of recommendations to begin reducing greenhouse gas emissions while the Climate Action Plan was in development. URI has already put into practice three of the seven tangible actions: URI Climate Action Plan
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