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SAN LEANDRO SHORELINE DEVELOPMENT DRAFT EIR CITY OF SAN LEANDRO GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS California's Greenhouse Gas Sources and Relative Contribution California is the tenth largest GHG emitter in the world and the second largest emitter of GHG in the United States, surpassed only by Texas; however, California also has over 12 million more people than the state of Texas.' Because of more stringent air emission regulations, in 2001 California ranked fourth lowest in carbon emissions per capita and fifth lowest among states in CO2 emissions from fossil fuel consumption per unit of Gross State Product (total economic output of goods and services).' The California Air Resources Board (CARB) last update to the statewide GHG emissions inventory that used the Second Assessment Report GWPs was conducted in 2012 for year 2009 emissions.' California's transportation sector is the single largest generator of GHG emissions, producing 37.9 percent of the State's total emissions. Electricity consumption is the second largest source, producing 22.7 percent. Industrial activities are California's third largest source of GHG emissions at 17.8 percent. 10,11 In 2013, the statewide GHG emissions inventory was updated for 2000 to 2012 emissions using the GWPs in IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report. Based on these GWPs, California produced 459 MMT CO2e GHG emissions in 2012. California's transportation sector remains the single largest generator of GHG emissions, producing 36.5 percent of the State's total emissions. Electricity consumption made up 20.7 percent, and industrial activities produced 19.4 percent. Other major sectors of GHG emissions include commercial and residential, recycling and waste, high global warming potential GHGs, agriculture, and forestry. 12 Human Influence on Climate Change For approximately 1,000 years before the Industrial Revolution, the amount of GHGs in the atmosphere remained relatively constant. During the 20th century, however, scientists observed a rapid change in the climate and climate change pollutants that is attributable to human activities. The amount of CO2 has increased by more than 35 percent since preindustrial times and has increased at an average rate of 1.4 parts per million (ppm) per year since 1960, mainly due to combustion of fossil fuels and deforestation.13 These recent changes in climate change pollutants far exceed the extremes of the ice ' California Energy Commission, 2005. Climate Change Emissions Estimates from Bemis, Gerry and Jennifer Allen, Inventory of California Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990 to 2002 Update, California Energy Commission Staff Paper CEC-600-2005-025, Sacramento, California, June. 8 California Energy Commission, 2006. Inventory of California Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks 1990 to 2004, Report CEC-600-2006-013-SF, December. 9 Methodology for determining the statewide GHG inventory is not the same as the methodology used to determine statewide GHG emissions under Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32) (2006). 10 CO2 -equivalence is used to show the relative potential that different GHGs have to retain infrared radiation in the atmosphere and contribute to the greenhouse effect. The global warming potential of a GHG is also dependent on the lifetime, or persistence, of the gas molecule in the atmosphere. 11 California Air Resources Board, 2012. California Greenhouse Gas Inventory for 2000-2009: By Category as Defined by the Scoping Plan, April. 12 California Air Resources Board, 2014. California Greenhouse Gas Inventory for 2000-2009: By Category as Defined by the Scoping Plan, March 24. 13 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007. Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007, New York: Cambridge University Press. 4.6-4 DECEMBER 2014