Nevada Statewide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Projections
Nevada Statewide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Projections, 1990 to 2030
2.
2.1
State of Nevada Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Historical Emissions (1990 to 2013)
The analysis of Nevada's GHG emissions indicates that for 2013 (the most recent year with datasets
available for all of the GHG sources considered) statewide gross GHG emissions were estimated to be
44.039 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MMTCO2eq). Figure 2-1 shows Nevada's gross
historical emissions from 1990 to 2013, where emissions are aggregated by sector and emissions for the
forestry sector are only shown when they are positive.8 GHG emissions increased every year from 1990
to 2000 but emissions peaked in 2005 at 60.362 MMTCO2eq. With the retirement of the Mohave
Generating Station that year, gross emissions decreased by more than 5 MMTCO2eq between 2005 and
2006. Further, the economic recession that occurred between 2007 and 2009 reduced emissions across
nearly all sectors as Nevada's entire economy suffered from the recession's effects.
Figure 2-1 also includes a black dashed line indicating the state's net GHG emissions. Net emissions are
the difference between GHG emissions and sinks in a given year. Because forestry sector emissions
largely act as a sink for GHG emissions (the forestry sector is the state's only true GHG sink), statewide
net emissions are generally lower when this sector is considered as both a source and a sink.
Figure 2-1: Nevada Gross Historical Emissions by Sector and Net Historical Emissions,
1990 - 2013
60
60
Emissions (MMTCO2eq)
40
20
0
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Fossil Fuel Industry
Waste Management
Residential, Commercial, and Industrial
Electricity Generation
Forestry
Agriculture
Industrial Processes
Transportation
Net Emissions
8
Forestry sector emissions are largely dependent upon wildfires and prescribed fires (wildland fires) in the state.
Typically the forestry sector acts as a sink for CO2 but when there are many acres burned by wildland fires in a
single year then emissions can be positive.
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