Greenhouse gases are dispersed in the Earth's atmosphere and trap solar radiation. The quantity of greenhouse gases determines the Earth's climate and human activities are increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases and changing the global climate. Increased greenhouse gases cause global average surface temperature and atmospheric temperature to rise.
It is important to track greenhouse gas emissions so we know the County's baseline emissions. Understanding what current emissions are will allow us to set goals for future emissions reduction and monitor if we are making progress in meeting those goals.
All emissions are measured in kilotons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. Carbon dioxide equivalent emissions are used as a way to compare the global warming potential of different greenhouse gases (GHG) to carbon dioxide. Other gases are converted to the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide with the same global warming potential. This allows us to easily measure emissions from all different sectors.