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U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION Broader Participation Seen in Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases ProgramSome 42 manufacturers, landfill methane operators, and other non-utility organizations voluntarily filed reports on their actions to reduce, avoid, or sequester greenhouse gas emissions with the Energy Information Administration's Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program in 1997. The number of non-utilities reporting has quadrupled since the first year of the program, in 1994. Non-utilities now comprise more than a quarter (27 percent) of the reporters to the Program and include firms in the automotive industry (General Motors and Volvo); petroleum refining and production (BP America); the chemical industry (Johnson & Johnson and Dow Chemical Company); the metals industry (Noranda, Alcan, and Columbia Falls Aluminum); coal mining (Peabody and Consol); and electronic equipment (IBM, Lucent, and Motorola Austin). EIA's summary of results of the fourth year of reporting, Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases 1997, released today, discusses emission reduction activities undertaken during 1997. More than 150 participants reported 1,229 individual projects that reduced or offset emissions by a reported 166 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is an increase of 7 percent over the total reductions reported for 1996. Electric utilities continued to be major participants in the program, with 111 electric utilities, including nearly all of the largest generating utilities in the United States, filing reports. These utilities reported projects such as improved plant efficiencies, cogeneration, use of non-fossil fuels such as nuclear and renewable fuels, and demand-side management programs that reduce power use by their customers. Other reported projects cover many different approaches to reducing or offsetting emissions, and include such activities as methane recovery projects at landfills, urban forestry, and worldwide tree planting projects. The Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program, required by the Energy Policy Act of 1992, is part of U.S. Government efforts to develop innovative, low-cost, and nonregulatory approaches to limit emissions of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases, which include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and halogenated substances such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs), absorb infrared energy and prevent it from leaving the atmosphere. Increasing levels of these gases in the atmosphere may contribute to an increase in average global temperatures, resulting in adverse climate changes. The Voluntary Reporting Program affords an opportunity for any organization or individual to establish a public record of its achievements in reducing or offsetting greenhouse gas emissions in a national, publicly available database. Participants may report aggregate emissions and emission reductions as well as any activity that reduces or offsets greenhouse gas emissions. Offsetting emissions typically involves sequestering carbon by growing trees, which removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases 1997 is available electronically on EIA's Internet Web Site at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/vr98rpt/front.html Printed copies of the report are available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, 202/512-1800, or through EIA's National Energy Information Center, 202/586-8800. EIA has also compiled a database of emission reduction activities reported by program participants last year. The database is available on CD-ROM. To obtain the database or current reporting forms which allow for reporting emissions reductions achieved in 1998 and prior years, contact EIA at 1-800-803-5182 or via e-mail at infoghg@eia.doe.gov.
EIA Program Contact: Stephen Calopedis, 202/586-1156 EIA-99-15 Contact:
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