Dashboards

This page presents Arlington County’s anthropogenic, or human-caused, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from government operations as estimated in the 2016 Arlington County Government Operations Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory. The linked report provides additional detail about the data sources and methodology used to develop the GHG inventory estimates.

A GHG emissions inventory provides an estimate of GHG emissions for a given year from major anthropogenic sources. It is used to identify, plan and implement reduction opportunities and track progress toward climate goals, including the County’s goals to achieve a 67% reduction in GHG emissions from County operations relative to a 2007 baseline by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050 as part of the County’s Community Energy Plan.

A GHG inventory typically estimates total emissions for a single year, providing a snapshot of emissions in that year. Arlington County has completed GHG inventories for years 2007, 2012 and 2016, and the results of those three inventories are presented in this dashboard. Arlington County compares the GHG inventory to the baseline inventory from 2007. Emissions have decreased from 2007 to 2016 largely as a result of improvements to building energy efficiency, reduced emissions from grid electricity and increased vehicle fuel economy.

The County plans to complete an updated GHG inventory for 2023, which will be completed in early 2025. These dashboards will be refreshed as new data becomes available. Emissions include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and in some cases hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). In order to show total GHG emissions, totals for each gas are presented in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (MTCO2e) using global warming potentials (GWPs) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) based on guidance from the Global Protocol for Community-scale Greenhouse Gas Inventories (GPC Protocol), the same protocol the County uses for its GHG inventory development.

This page presents Arlington County’s community-wide anthropogenic, or human-caused, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from all major sources as estimated in the 2016 Arlington County Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, which includes emissions from residents, businesses and County operations. The linked report provides additional detail about the data sources and methodology used to develop the GHG inventory estimates.

A GHG emissions inventory provides an estimate of GHG emissions for a given year from major anthropogenic sources. It is used to identify, plan and implement reduction opportunities and track progress toward climate goals, including the County’s goal to achieve community-wide carbon neutrality by 2050 as part of the County’s Community Energy Plan. A GHG inventory typically estimates total emissions for a single year, providing a snapshot of emissions in that year.

Arlington County has completed GHG inventories for years 2007, 2012 and 2016, and the results of those three inventories are presented in this dashboard. Arlington County compares the GHG inventory to the baseline inventory from 2007. Emissions have decreased from 2007 to 2016 largely as a result of improvements to building energy efficiency, reduced emissions from grid electricity and increased vehicle fuel economy.

The County plans to complete an updated GHG inventory for 2023, which will be completed in early 2025. and These dashboards will be refreshed as new data becomes available. Emissions include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and in some cases hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). In order to provide total GHG emissions, totals for each gas are presented in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (MTCO2e) using global warming potentials (GWPs) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) based on guidance from the Global Protocol for Community-scale Greenhouse Gas Inventories (GPC Protocol) the protocol the County uses for its GHG inventory development.