The role of CO2 emissions from large point sources in emissions totals, responsibility, and policy

•A large fraction of anthropogenic CO2 emissions comes from large point sources.•CO2 per capita from U.S. states is of similar magnitude if large point sources are not counted.•Emissions from large point sources are conceptually different from those from small sources. A large fraction of anthropoge...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Environmental science & policy Vol. 44; pp. 190 - 200
Main Authors:	Singer, Alison M., Branham, Meredith, Hutchins, Maya G., Welker, Jonathan, Woodard, Dawn L., Badurek, Christopher A., Ruseva, Tatyana, Marland, Eric, Marland, Gregg
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01-12-2014 Elsevier
Subjects:	Accounting Animal, plant and microbial ecology Applied ecology Biological and medical sciences Boundaries Carbon dioxide Carbon emissions CO2 emissions Consumption Electric power Emissions trading Energy consumption Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology International trade Jurisdiction Large point sources Location Natural resources Per capita emissions Petroleum Petroleum refineries Point sources Policies Responsibility U.S.A CO2 emissions Per capita emissions Large point sources Policy Gas emission Environment impact Carbon dioxide CO emissions Point source
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	•A large fraction of anthropogenic CO2 emissions comes from large point sources.•CO2 per capita from U.S. states is of similar magnitude if large point sources are not counted.•Emissions from large point sources are conceptually different from those from small sources. A large fraction of anthropogenic CO2 emissions comes from large point sources such as power plants, petroleum refineries, and large industrial facilities. The existence and locations of these facilities depend on a variety of factors that include the distribution of natural resources and the economy of scale of operating large facilities. These large facilities provide goods and/or services well beyond the political jurisdiction in which they reside and their emissions to the global atmosphere are not a simple reflection of the consumption of goods and services within the geographic region in which they reside. And yet many accounting schemes do not distinguish between emissions for local consumption and emissions for export. Looking at the geographic distribution of large point sources of CO2 emissions in the U.S. suggests that per capita emissions from a geographic area are not necessarily a good indication of the mitigation responsibility of the residents. The design of effective and fair mitigation strategies needs to consider that emissions embodied in the products of large facilities, such as electric power and refined petroleum products, are often transferred across accounting boundaries; e.g. the CO2 emissions occur in one jurisdiction even though the electricity is used in another. We close with a short discussion of how two sub-national emissions trading schemes in the U.S. have confronted the issue of embodied emissions crossing their jurisdictional boundaries.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1462-9011 1873-6416
DOI:	10.1016/j.envsci.2014.08.001