This first comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory quantifies both citywide and municipal GHG emissions for the City of Detroit. The inventory provides a baseline from which to set GHG emissions reduction targets and from which to measure the effects of climate adaptation and mitigation interventions. This work complements efforts of the Detroit Climate Action Collaborative (DCAC) to educate and engage the city and its residents on climate change issues and develop local strategies that would foster the cultural and institutional shifts needed to address climate change. This report ultimately informs DCAC’s ongoing effort to develop a formal Detroit Climate Action Plan.

The Detroit GHG inventory accounts for emissions generated from energy use from buildings and facilities and transportation, industrial processes, solid waste, and wastewater treatment. A land use analysis estimates emissions sequestered by Detroit’s urban forest but is not included in the total emissions calculations, as directed by local inventory protocols. Those emissions associated with activities under the operational control of the municipal government are analyzed in the report’s Municipal Government Inventory section.

Using activity data collected from calendar years 2011 and 2012, the inventory accounts for citywide totals of approximately 10.6 million metric tons (million t) of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) emitted in 2011 and 2012, with a small (about 1%) growth in emissions between the years (approximately 70,000 more metric tons of CO2e were emitted in 2012). The largest emitting activity citywide is energy use from buildings and facilities (both electricity and natural gas), which accounts for 63% of total citywide emissions in both analysis years. The Municipal Government Inventory finds city operations emitted approximately 1.2 million t CO2e in both 2011 and 2012. As a percentage of citywide, municipal emissions make up approximately 11.1% of the citywide total in both 2011 and 2012.

This project recommends that the City of Detroit regularly conduct inventories to understand emission trends over time. In addition, the final section of the report outlines suggestions for how to improve this analysis to further aid in decision-making.