Background Cities contribute more than 70% of global anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and are leading the effort to reduce GHG emissions through sustainable planning and development. However, urban greenhouse gas mitigation often relies on self-reported emissions estimates that may be incomplete and unverifiable via atmospheric monitoring. We present the Hestia Scope 1 fossil fuel CO2 emissions for the city of Baltimore, Maryland – a gridded annual and hourly emissions data product for 2010 through 2015.
Results The emissions in the base year of 2011 totaled 1431.5 kt C, with the largest emissions coming from onroad (35.0% of total city emissions), commercial (18.3%), residential (16.7%), and industrial (12.6%) sectors. Scope 1 electricity production and marine shipping were each generally less than 10% of the city’s total emissions. Baltimore’s self-reported Scope 1 emissions of 1,182.6 kt C were 22.8% lower than Hestia-Baltimore emission in 2014, largely due to the omission of petroleum consumption in buildings and several sectors that largely fall outside the city’s regulatory purview – industrial point sources, marine shipping, nonroad vehicles, rail, and aircraft.
Conclusions We emphasize the need for comprehensive, Scope 1-only emissions estimates for emissions verification and measuring progress towards greenhouse gas mitigation goals using atmospheric monitoring, but we also acknowledge that city planners may desire a greater mix of scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions with an emphasis on activities under local policy control.