Arlington County tracks greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that result from activities within the county.
The County’s GHG dashboard summarizes data from the Community GHG Emissions Inventories for 2007, 2012, 2016 and 2023.
The GHG inventory covers emissions from residents, businesses and County operations.
From 2016 to 2023, Arlington County’s community GHG emissions decreased 18%, with substantial reductions in the Buildings and Transportation sectors.
The largest GHG emissions reductions from 2016 to 2023 came from Commercial and Institutional Buildings, Residential Buildings and On-road Transportation.
Additional details on the GHG inventory data and methods are available in the Arlington County CY2023 GHG Inventory Report(PDF, 846KB).
GHG inventories help the County to plan for and monitor progress on its climate goals.
GHG inventories allow the County to:
Estimate emissions from key human activities and are organized into categories, or sectors, including Buildings, Transportation, Waste and Other sources.
Provide a snapshot of historical emissions for a single year; the County has developed inventories for 2007, 2012, 2016 and 2023.
Guide emissions reduction efforts and progress tracking toward Arlington County's 2050 carbon neutrality goal under the Community Energy Plan.
County-wide GHG emissions have decreased between 2007 and 2023.
Emissions reductions are due to several key factors:
Less electricity use, especially from commercial and institutional buildings.
Cleaner electricity, meaning fewer emissions from each kilowatt of electricity used.
Lower transportation emissions, with fewer emissions generated for each mile traveled by automobiles.
The actions that reduce GHG emissions also provide numerous community benefits.
For example, actions that reduce fuel combustion in cars and buildings also reduce harmful pollutants, while actions that improve energy efficiency can provide utility bill savings.
Examples of community benefits include:
Public Health Benefits: Reduced respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses caused by air pollution. Lower asthma rates, especially among children and the elderly.
Air Quality Benefits: Improved overall air quality from reductions in pollutants like particulate matter and ground-level ozone. Reduced smog, leading to clearer and healthier air.
Affordability Benefits: Lower building energy costs from energy efficiency improvements and transportation cost savings from improved public transit and active transportation options.
GHG emissions are measured and standardized for comparison.
The County’s inventories include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
GHG emissions are reported in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (MTCO2e).
County-wide GHG emissions are organized into categories, or sectors, including Buildings, Transportation, Waste, and Other sources. “Other” sources include agriculture and fugitive refrigerants.
In 2023, 54% of emissions came from Buildings, 36% from Transportation, 3% from Waste, and the remaining 7% from Other sources.
County government operations, including Arlington Public Schools, generate approximately 3% of total county-wide GHG emissions in 2023.
Of all fuel types, most 2023 emissions came from electricity (37%) and on-road transportation fuels, like gasoline and diesel (35%). Emissions from natural gas contributed 17% of total emissions.
County-wide GHG emissions decreased 35% from 2007 to 2023, with substantial reductions in the Buildings and Transportation sectors despite emissions increases in the Waste and Other sectors.
Arlington County is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Building Emissions by Sub-sector
Emissions from the Buildings sector accounted for 54% of total community emissions in 2023.
Buildings and facilities in the county use various energy sources, such as electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and other fuels for heating, cooling, lighting, and powering equipment.
In 2023, Buildings sector emissions came from commercial and institutional buildings (59%), residential buildings (40%), manufacturing industries and construction (<1%), and fugitive emissions from oil and natural gas systems (1%).
Buildings sector emissions decreased 47% from 2007 to 2023 – due to lower total electricity use and increasing use of lower emissions electricity sources, while the County’s population and jobs increased.
Buildings Sector Energy Use
Total building energy use decreased from 2007 to 2023, while the County’s population and jobs increased.
Natural gas use decreased 9% from 2007 to 2023; however, natural gas use increased since 2012.
Electricity use decreased 19% from 2007 to 2023, with declining use in each of the County’s GHG inventory years.
Emissions from other fuels, including fuel oil and LPG, decreased 71% from 2007 to 2023.
Electricity Emissions
Electricity emissions per kilowatt hour (kWh) decreased 44% from 2007 to 2023 from use of lower-emissions electricity generation sources in the utility grid.
Approximately 75% of county-wide GHG emissions reductions from 2007 to 2023 are attributed to decreases in Buildings sector electricity emissions.
Emissions from the Transportation sector account for 36% of total community emissions in 2023.
The Transportation sector includes on-road vehicles traveling within the county, such as passenger cars, trucks, and Metrobus and Arlington Transit (ART) buses; rail services like Virginia Railway Express (VRE) and Metrorail; and some types of off-road vehicles, like airport and railroad and equipment.
In 2023, 97% of Transportation emissions came from on-road vehicles, including light-duty vehicles (passenger cars, motorcycles, SUVs, light-duty trucks) at 88%, heavy-duty trucks (7%), Metrobus (1%), and all other on-road vehicles (1%).
Transportation sector emissions decreased 23% from 2007 to 2023 – due to vehicle fuel efficiency improvements and adoption of low- and zero-emissions vehicle options, such as electric vehicles.
The Waste sector produced 3% of total county-wide GHG emissions in 2023.
Waste sector emissions include the disposal of solid waste through landfilling, composting, and combustion at waste-to-energy facilities, as well as wastewater treatment emissions.
Nearly 90% of Waste sector emissions in 2023 were attributed to incineration at waste-to-energy facilities.
Waste sector emissions increased 6% from 2007 to 2023, primarily from increased waste-to-energy emissions.
Other emissions sources contributed approximately 7% of total county-wide emissions in 2023.
Other sectors account for refrigerant leakage of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and agricultural nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from crop production and fertilizer use.
These emissions sources were not previously reported in the County’s prior GHG inventories and have been added from the MWCOG GHG inventories, which uses national data sources and models to estimate these emissions locally.
View the Dashboards
View the Community-wide and County Operations Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Dashboards.
Focus on continued emission reductions
The County's Community Energy Plan outlines Arlington’s path forward, with a focus on increasing renewable energy, improving building efficiency, supporting sustainable transportation and exploring new ways to capture and remove carbon emissions.
Explore the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy (AIRE) website, which provides resources on efforts to cut emissions and promote sustainability.
If you have questions or want to get involved, contact Jenna Peabody, Energy Programs Outreach Specialist, at jpeabody@arlingtonva.us