The City of Tampa is taking another big step to support climate action, transparency, and accountability by reporting its full greenhouse gas emissions to the global Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
The Carbon Disclosure Project is a not-for-profit organization that allows cities, states, regions, companies, and investors to track environmental impacts. In 2020, 812 cities across 85 countries disclosed their climate and environmental data through the CDP.
As part of Mayor Jane Castor’s Transforming Tampa’s Tomorrow strategic goals, the City of Tampa's Sustainability & Resiliency officer worked with the University of South Florida to update the City’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory for the first time in over a decade.
The data from the inventory is used to fulfill the CDP’s reporting requirements. The City of Tampa is committed to tracking its carbon emissions as part of a global effort to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The city’s first climate justice intern, Ariel Santiago, a graduate student at the USF Patel College of Global Sustainability, assisted with the reporting.
Key findings from the Greenhouse Gas Inventory include:
- Net city-wide greenhouse gas emissions have decreased from approximately 6.5 to 5.1 million overall between 2009 -- 2019 due to TECO’s retiring of coal facilities
- Per capita emissions have reduced from 18.5 to 12.6 mtCO2e per person from 2009 to 2019
- Emissions from energy (mostly electrical) contribute to 47.7% of carbon emissions and transportation contributes to 47% of total emissions city-wide
- For City of Tampa governmental operations, the largest categories of greenhouse gas emissions came from solid waste operations (which were responsible for 51.2% of governmental greenhouse gas in 2019) followed by electricity, wastewater, and fleet.
The City of Tampa has launched several initiatives to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and reduce Tampa’s carbon footprint. These include starting to convert the City’s fleet to electric vehicles, integrating solar at the Government Service Center at Hanna Avenue, and amplifying existing and renewable energy programs like the Solar United Neighbors solar co-op. The city is also developing its first Climate Action and Equity Plan, with community engagement scheduled to begin in September.
In 2022, the City of Tampa is committed to continuing its reporting progress with the Carbon Disclosure Project as a leader in Florida's sustainability initiatives and leaning into sustainability goals for Transforming Tampa’s Tomorrow.
Learn more about the Carbon Disclosure Project at: https://data.cdp.net/
Learn more about the City of Tampa’s Sustainability & Resiliency efforts at: www.tampa.gov/green-Tampa