Do you think Eagle County is all fresh air and snowy peaks? Well, every year, Eagle County contracts with Clean Energy Economy for the Region (CLEER) to spill the beans on its carbon footprint—no greenwashing allowed! Through this partnership, CLEER creates a detailed report of Eagle County’s emissions. Eagle County's 2023 Energy Inventory reveals a nuanced picture of the County’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy use, and progress toward sustainability goals. The report, which tracks data from 2014 to 2023, highlights both achievements and areas needing improvement.
In 2023, Eagle County's GHG emissions totaled 1.432 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e), representing a 6% increase from the 2014 baseline. To put this into perspective, this is the equivalent of 3,646,673,387 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle. However, there is a silver lining: emissions have nearly leveled out for the first time since 2017, with only a 0.12% increase over 2022. We can largely attribute this leveling out to the decarbonization of our electricity grid, and efforts to electrify transportation, both of which can temper emissions increases despite increased community growth. New studies suggest a global emissions peak may be on the horizon. For example, it is now cheaper to build a new solar project than it is to build a power plant that runs on coal or natural gas, making solar and electric more accessible and easier options from a financial standpoint. Because of this shift, the growing supply of solar and wind energy has begun to displace fossil fuels.Though emissions are still rising, the upward momentum of emissions has tapered off, to a degree, due to these changes. At this time, the primary sources of emissions in Eagle County remain buildings and ground transportation, making these sectors critical targets for future reductions.
The built environment has seen notable progress towards decarbonization, in large part thanks to the efforts of Holy Cross Energy (HCE) and Xcel Energy to create cleaner electricity grids. HCE's renewable grid has grown from 28.5% in 2015 to an impressive 50% in 2023, resulting in electricity emissions from buildings decreasing by 35% since 2014. As of 2024, HCE has achieved 90% renewable energy, which is an incredible accomplishment that will surely be reflected in the 2024 energy inventory. Despite these strides, natural gas emissions have risen by 17.5% since 2014, highlighting the need for updated all-electric building codes for new construction. The Climate Action Collaborative (CAC) has been supporting regional communities in meeting net zero new construction codes by 2030 through a unique regional partnership funded by the Colorado Energy Office. All-electric new construction is possible in our community, and our primary electric utility, Holy Cross Energy, has consistently shared that our grid can handle additional electricity loads. If folks want to do their part to reduce community emissions, we recommend reaching out to a Walking Mountains Energy Coach to learn more about rebates and incentives for energy efficiency updates and electrification projects.
Transportation emissions remain a significant challenge for our community. Emissions have increased by 10% since 2018, primarily due to a growing population and better transportation data. However, in some positive news, in 2023 we experienced a 2.4% decline in comparison to 2022. Notably, per-capita transportation emissions in Eagle County are roughly double the state average, driven by population growth and longer commutes, as well as tourism. There are numerous opportunities for community members to do their part to reduce transportation emissions. For instance, Core Transit is focused on increasing public transit ridership by offering free bus transportation for most of Eagle County, and increased routes and services; consider riding the bus to work! During the summer months, you could take a Shift Bike for a local ride if you’re up valley. Our communities are also boosting electric vehicle (EV) adoption through rebates and incentives for EV charging infrastructure and ports. Currently, EVs account for 1.8% of vehicle registrations in the county, slightly above the statewide proportion.
Looking at the waste sector, solid waste emissions have decreased by roughly 2% since 2014, although there were no significant changes in 2023 in comparison to 2022. Efforts to reduce organic waste and increase recycling are crucial, as waste contributes 6% of the County's overall emissions. While that may not sound like much, waste diversion is one of the most inexpensive, tangible things individuals can do to make a difference. The county's diversion rate in 2023 was 23%, which is higher than the statewide average of 16%, but 7% lower than the previous year. To combat this, Walking Mountains provides Zero Waste services at many events. In 2023, this team was able to divert 60,469 pounds of waste from landfill through sorting recyclable and compostable material over the course of 130 days of events! This totaled a diversion rate of 86.01% for the year. If you are curious about what can be recycled, composted, or more in your own home, Walking Mountains has an app called the Eagle County Waste Wizard that is easy to use and area specific!
A new addition to the 2023 inventory is the analysis of the Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector. In other words, in 2023’s report, we were able to estimate the amount of carbon sequestration naturally occurring in our community from our healthy forests and landscapes. This sector removed an estimated annual net total of 202,000 metric tons of CO2e from the atmosphere between 2019 and 2021, which is equivalent to the carbon sequestered by over 3 million tree seedlings grown for ten years! This underscores the importance of protecting and conserving natural assets for generations to come. The AFOLU sector's ability to sequester carbon highlights the value of maintaining healthy forests and landscapes; however, it’s important to delineate human-caused emissions from naturally occurring carbon sequestration. Our communities must take ownership of human-caused emissions by continuing decarbonization efforts and protecting the healthy, natural assets in our community that sequester carbon. We cannot use naturally-occurring carbon sequestration to justify continued emitting as if the two cancel each other out.
Eagle County communities have set goals of reducing emissions 25% by 2025, 50% by 2030, and 80% by 2050, compared to 2014 emissions. Based on current trends, it will take the effort of all Eagle County residents to achieve these goals. We call on our community to utilize alternative transportation options, electrify our homes and vehicles, and recycle and compost as much as we can. The single greatest thing you can do to reduce community emissions is to electrify your home. Don’t hesitate to reach out to Walking Mountains and the CAC to learn more about community progress and how you can do your part.
Gina McCrackin is the Climate Action Collaborative Manager at Walking Mountains, and Chantel Recksiedler is the Climate Action Collaborative Coordinator. The Climate Action Collaborative is working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Eagle County 50% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.