To: SGA Coalition Members
Fr: Kate
Re: Interested in releasing Brookings Metro Climate Report?
The Brookings Institution has asked us to co-release a report on Thursday, May
29 about the contribution of the built environment to global warming pollution by
metro area (Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of Metropolitan America, attached).
This memo outlines some of the key statistics included in the report, including
metro-specific data on the annual CO2 emmisions from the transportation and
residential sectors in the 100 largest U.S. metro areas.
Please let me know if you'd be interested in releasing this report in your
state. SGA is working with Brookings, and will provide the following if you
choose to release this report locally:
1. Sample press release that can be localized
2. Internal Q&A
3. Conference call two weeks before the release to discuss findings and answer
questions
Key Findings
--The report quantifies the CO2 emissions of the transportation (passenger and
freight) and residential (energy use by buildings) sectors for the 100 largest
metropolitan areas from 2000-2005.
--The report ranks the metro areas according to overall carbon footprint, and also
according to each source of emissions; in other words, who produces the most
and least emissions from personal travel, who has the most freight emissions,
etc.
--While the county's 100 metro areas are responsible for a large share of overall
U.S. CO2 emissions (26 percent overall and 55 percent of US emissions from
highway transportation and residential buildings in 2005), metro residents have a
smaller per capita carbon footprint than the average America (2.2 metric tons of
CO2 in 2005 for a metro resident, versus 2.6 metric tons for the average
American)
--Half of the variations in metro area's CO2 per capita levels can be explained by
land use patterns and transit availability. The more compact, walkable metro
areas that have transit systems generally have much smaller carbon footprints
per capita. (Other factors contributing to the variation are a metro area's energy
building standards and the mix of electricity use, for example.)
Key Messages
--Real relief from high gas prices should come from helping Americans drive less
and spend less at the pump. The most effective way to do that is to give people
more choices about how they get around, by investing in public transportation
and building more convenient, walkable communities.
--This report shows that the metro areas that provide these kinds of
transportation choices use less gasoline and emit less global warming pollution.
--(METRO AREA X) ranks (#) in its overall carbon footprint compared to the
largest 100 metro areas, with the average resident using XX metric tons of CO2
in 2005.
--Congress has a key opportunity right now to help Americans save money at the
pump and reduce global warming pollution, by directing funding in the Senate's
proposed climate change bill to public transportation and incentives for more
walkable communities. We call on Senators X and Y to support this addition.
--(Add any state/regional policy message)
Local findings (see below—this is the first chart; the Brookings report also has
info broken down by residential and transportation sectors by Metro Area)
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Kate Rube
Policy Director, Smart Growth America
1707 L Street, NW * Suite 1050
Washington, DC 20036
Phone (W): 202.207.3355 x14
Phone (C): 202.236.8713
Fax: 202.207.3349
[email protected]
www.smartgrowthamerica.org
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