The Net Carbon Calculator

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Reynard Wells
6 years ago
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1 Signature Project #1D, Modeling Transportation Alternatives: The Net Carbon Calculator Jim Sullivan UVM TRC Stephen Lawe RSG, Inc. The Net Carbon Calculator Context Background Achievements Budget Status Remaining Work Future Direction Funding Opportunities 1

2 Context Relationship to the original Signature Project No. 1 Integrated Modeling Component Environmental Metrics Component The Net Carbon Calculator: Used to quantify vehicular emissions from travel on the network (+) and carbon sequestration from biological resources (-). Focus on Chittenden County Background PI: Jen Jenkins Ph. D. Student in Natural Resources: Anna Mika Development Support from RSG, Inc. Dave Hershey & Stephen Lawe Development of the Vermont-specific parameters for estimation of carbon sequestration by land-use type Important component for Chittenden County, where 61% of land cover is forestland Development of the software tool in ArcGIS Uses the Vermont-specific parameters to quantify carbon sequestration Uses a traffic volume- and speed-based method to estimate the carbon emissions from auto Calculates net carbon from both Can incorporate a future scenario to forecast net-carbon change over time Illustrative application to Chittenden County 209,900 Mg C per year sequestered 220,000 Mg C per year emitted 2

Background Achievements National Industry Presentations Greenhouse Gas Forecasting: Opportunities for Improvement. Presented by Stephen Lawe & Kevin Hathaway of RSG, Inc.

3 Background Achievements National Industry Presentations Greenhouse Gas Forecasting: Opportunities for Improvement. Presented by Stephen Lawe & Kevin Hathaway of RSG, Inc., November, 2009 to AMPO Overview of GHG Methodologies for Surface Transportation. Presented by Stephen Lawe & Kevin Hathaway of RSG, Inc., March 10, 2010 to the AASHTO Transportation and Climate Change Resource Center. Reached 350 people via webinar Research Conference Proceedings Mika, Jenkins, Hathaway, Lawe, and Hershey. Vermont Integrated Land Use and Transportation Carbon Estimator. 89th Annual Transportation Research Board Meeting Conference, January 2010, Washington, D.C. Publication Mika et al (pending). Integrated Land Use and Transportation Carbon Estimator. Transportation Research Record. 3

4 Budget Status Timeline Summer 2007 Summer 2008: Planning (Low-Spend) Summer 2008 Summer 2009: Most of the work described completed by Jenkins, Mika and RSG Summer of 2009 February 2010: Dissemination of the tool, widespread use of the tool, planning for next phase February 2010 July 2010: Final phase of applications and reporting Budget Status Slightly over budget at the end of Year 2 Year 3 will be considerably lower than budgeted amount it still looks like the project is ahead of the original schedule Match Status Only about 20% at end of Year 2; 65% is due to tuition differential Remaining Work Loss of Jen Jenkins and Anna Mika Application to three 2030 Land-Use / Transportation Scenarios in Chittenden County Kicked off in February 2010 Primary work by RSG, Inc. Final Reporting Expected completion in July

5 Future Direction Broaden the scope of the sequestration coefficients for widespread distribution Regional coefficients needed to cover the entire US Inquiry from Atlanta Include carbon emissions from non-transportation sources Electricity and heating Primarily to quantify the fraction of total emissions due to transportation, and compare that to the sequestration interrupted by transportation infrastructure Understand the true carbon contribution created by new transportation infrastructure Funding Opportunities At the core of the UVM TRC s research focus on Sustainable Transportation Systems Vermont Agency of Transportation Recent RFP Incorporation into the long-term goals in the state suggest continued sources of funding from Vtrans: Vermont Governor s Commission on Climate Change (VGCCC) has identified as one of its emissions-reduction priorities land use planning and development that reduces vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and emissions. Via RSG, Inc. - Match? Connection to air-quality and human-health suggests opportunities for health-related sources of funding 5

6 Questions? 6

Integrated Land-Use, Transportation and Environmental Modeling The Vermont Integrated Land-Use and Transportation Carbon Estimator

A Report from the University of Vermont Transportation Research Center Integrated Land-Use, Transportation and Environmental Modeling The Vermont Integrated Land-Use and Transportation Carbon Estimator