Updated Software Released for New Reporting Cycle

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is pleased to announce the launch of the seventh reporting cycle of the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program and with it, updated software. Earlier this month, we mailed out our CD-ROM, the Electronic Form for Data Through 2000 and 1999 Public Use Database. This software, also available from our web site at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/frntvrgg.html, offers the Public Use Database with all non-confidential reports received by the Voluntary Reporting Program to date, the updated electronic reporting form, and a library of documents and reporting tools. Among these tools is an updated version of our recycling worksheet (see article on back).

If you need technical assistance in preparing your Form EIA-1605 or EIA-1605EZ, have any questions, or have not received the software or paper forms, we encourage you to give us a call. Our Communications Center is open Monday through Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) and can be reached toll free at 1-800-803-5182 or by email at infoghg@eia.doe.gov.

June 1, 2001

Deadline for Reporting

During this reporting cycle we are collecting information on activities conducted through 2000. To be included in the next update of the Public Use Database, reports should be certified and submitted by June 1, 2001. While in previous years we have included reports submitted after the deadline, our ability to grant extensions this year will be fairly limited so that we can publish our annual summary report by December 2001. To do this we will have to stop reviewing reports earlier than we do normally. Be sure to submit your report on time to ensure that it will be included in the 2000 database. If you expect to have difficulty in meeting this deadline, contact the Communications Center at 1-800-803-5182 or infoghg@eia.doe.gov.

Annual Report Appendix Tables

In an effort to reduce printing costs, the Voluntary Reporting Program has eliminated the appendices from the printed version of our annual report, Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases 1999. These appendices, however, are still available and include more extensive tables than in previous editions of the annual report. We have incorporated a number of suggestions from reporters into both previous and new reference tables.

The appendix tables are easily accessible on the web at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/vrrpt/download.html#append where they can be printed individually or in their entirety. If you would like a double-sided, bound copy of the complete appendices, please contact the Communications Center.

picture of computer with screen reading: PC
Corner

Software Improved for 2000 Reporting

Improvements to this year's software include an enhanced print function and upgraded *.ghg files.

Print Function
In response to numerous requests to improve the software's print capabilities, we have been able to modify the print module so that all annual data now prints out, rather than just the four most recent years.

GHG Files
Please use the *.ghg files from the CD-ROM or our website (ftp://ftp.eia.doe.gov/pub/oiaf/1605/cdrom/ghgfiles/) rather than a file that you may have saved from a previous year. In the process of improving the functionality of our software, we have made small revisions to the import process, which mean that you will not be able to import *.ghg files exported from a previous version of our software if you reported project or financial commitments on Schedule IV. If you need to use an older version of your *.ghg file with the new software, please contact the Communications Center for specific guidance.

We hope you find these improvements to be beneficial. As always, we encourage you to let us know of any other features you would like to see in the software.

IPCC 3rd Assessment Summaries Available

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released a Summary for Policymakers for each of the three technical working groups (The Science of Climate Change; Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability; and Mitigation of Climate Change) contributing to the Third Assessment Report. These summaries can be downloaded from the following web site: http://www.ipcc.ch/.

Updated Recycling Worksheet

The Voluntary Reporting Program, with the assistance of EPA's Office of Solid Waste, has updated and improved our recycling worksheet. We have added several new materials including glass and metals other than steel and aluminum cans. It is important to note, however, that the emission factors for many of the new materials are proxies. We will continue to update this worksheet as EPA makes additional and more accurate factors available. As always, this worksheet is available on our CD-ROM and from our website in an easy-to-use MSExcel spreadsheet format, which automatically calculates emission reductions, and a PDF worksheet format.

Early Bird Reporters

The first 2000 data reports are in! Special recognition for filing this year's first reports goes to:
Arizona Public Service Company
The Bentech Group of Delaware, Inc.
DeBourgh Manufacturing Company
Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Mgt District
Republic Metals Corporation
Shrewsbury's Electric Light Plant
Steuben Rural Electric Co-op

We encourage you all to follow suit and send your reports in before the June 1 reporting deadline!

Climate Change and Waste: Quantifying the Benefits of Waste Reduction

Waste reduction efforts such as recycling and source reduction are effective strategies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; however, the GHG benefits are not clearly linked to a single stage in a material's life cycle or to a single emission source included in international GHG accounting methods. The cross-cutting nature of the GHG impacts associated with waste reduction make it difficult to quantify benefits and to attribute benefits to a single party.

Waste management decisions impact the GHG emissions occurring from downstream as well as upstream stages in a material's life cycle. For instance, source reduction and recycling reduce downstream emissions of methane from landfills and carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide from combustion. Source reduction and recycling also reduce "upstream" energy consumption and industrial process emissions for raw materials acquisition and manufacturing. When forest products are source reduced or recycled, fewer trees are harvested, thereby increasing forest carbon storage. Collectively, these emissions and sinks cut across four major GHG inventory source categories energy, industrial processes, forestry, and waste.

Recognizing the GHG mitigation potential of waste reduction activities and the need for a method to quantify emission reductions associated with source reduction and recycling, EPA's Office of Solid Waste developed life-cycle emission factors for the most common waste management strategies and material types found in municipal solid waste. EPA's life-cycle GHG emission factors are incorporated into the 1605(b) recycling worksheet and will soon be included in a revised version of EPA's Waste Reduction Model (WARM) model. Unlike the original version of WARM, the revised model will present emission factors by gas and by year to meet the reporting needs of 1605(b) reporters.

For More Information About Voluntary Reporting...

Voice: 1-800-803-5182 or 202-586-0688 Fax: (202) 586-3045
E-mail: infoghg@eia.doe.gov
Internet: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/frntvrgg.html
FTP: fttp://ftp.eia.doe.gov/pub/oiaf/1605/cdrom
Mailing Address: Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program,
U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, EI-81,
1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20585.