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Federal agencies will not be required to report indirect emissions from vendors and third-party contractors, under a new set of greenhouse gas reporting guidelines released Oct. 6 by the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).
The guidelines are intended to help agencies compile an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions by the end of January, as part of an executive order by President Obama to reduce direct emissions by 28 percent and indirect emissions by 13 percent by 2020.
Nancy Sutley, CEQ chairwoman, said the new guidelines will provide transparency and accountability for federal agencies and their greenhouse gas pollution.
“For the first time, this guidance sets consistent standards and requirements for measuring and reporting the federal government’s greenhouse gas emissions,” Sutley said in a news release.
The guidelines direct agencies to measure direct emissions such as those generated by building heating and cooling systems and by vehicle fleets.
They also direct agencies to quantify emissions generated by federal employee commutes to work, employee business travel and contracted solid waste disposal and wastewater treatment. There are also guidelines on manure management, composting, carbon offsets and emissions inventory verification processes. However, these guidelines will not cover a growing segment of federal operations, which include contractors, nor will it cover the greenhouse gases generated through the supply chain for federal government purchases.
“Agencies are not required to report emissions related to their vendors and contractors at this time, but future inventories will include vendor and contractor emissions to the greatest extent feasible,” the report states.
The guidelines state that because standards for measuring indirect emissions are evolving, the government will employ a phased approach that will gradually include more indirect emissions sources over time.
The guidelines also warn agencies that outsourcing activities, such as information technology services and data centers, are not a useful way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions because it might result in greater indirect emissions than in savings from direct emissions.
The White House estimates that meeting these reduction targets will save $8 billion to $11 billion in energy costs through 2020.
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LOL. I wonder how the President plans to verify his indirect emissions targets without requiring measurements?
I just wish he’d take the same approach with direct emissions. This whole ‘CO2 is bad’ propaganda effort will collapse under the weight of facts in another decade anyway. Wake up, people. It’s just plant food…