City Dwellers Greener

Apparently, this nation’s carbon footprint has a distinct geographic bend–an urban resident emits less carbon dioxide pollution than the average American.

The Brookings Institution has released a report which analyzed data on household and transportation energy use and found that the average U.S. resident was responsible for about 2.87 tons of carbon pollution a year, but that residents of the U.S.’s 100 largest metro areas had footprints of just 2.47 tons a year on average.  Overall, West Coast cities fared better than Eastern ones due to warmer climates, more aggressive energy-reduction policies, higher fuel and electricity costs, and a greater reliance on hydropower.

“It was a surprise the extent to which emissions per capita are lower,”  offered Marilyn Brown, a professor of energy policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology and co-author of the report.

The report presented a limited snapshot of overall emissions, focusing on residential electricity and fuel use and the mileage traveled by cars and trucks which contribute to almost half of overall carbon emissions. The calculations do not include industrial emissions, those from commercial or government structures and those from air, rail or sea transportation.

The authors also suggested policy recommendations, including federal legislation setting a price on carbon emissions, increasing financing for energy research and development, revising federal policies that reward states with high levels of travel and fuel use and providing more predictable, financial support of mass transit.

Urban America’s necessary leadership role in addressing energy and environmental challenges must have effective underlying federal policy actions in order to successfully seek metropolitan energy and climate solutions.