Climate Lens Tool.xlsx

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1		GHG Emissions Model			Feb 2025
2		This GHG Emissions Model is a work in progress to assist those working in the area of assessing GHG emissions within municipal operations and throughout the broader community.
3		For comments/corrections/questions please contact: bobinamber1@gmail.com
4		Emission Factors (EF) - For Reference
5		The charts below provide emission factors (EF) for greenhouse gas (GHG) for a number of fuel sources and activities. Emission factors indicate the amount of GHG emitted for each unit of activity. For example, each litre of fuel oil consumed generates 2.75 kg of GHG. The numbers provided don't always represent full life-cycle including both upstream and downstream emission implications. Measuring emissions is an ongoing process and the numbers will evolve over time.
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7		Emissions Factors For reference only		GHG	Comments
8		Emissions Factors For reference only		kg /unit	Comments
9	1	Basic Emission Factors for:	Units
10	2	Electricity*	kWh	0.030	EF is for reductions for each kWh of electricity in Ontario
11	3	Natural Gas* (see Note below)	m3	2.40	EF per cubic metre of natural gas (Includes partial upstream emissions)
12	4	Fuel Oil*	litres	2.753	EF are for each litre of #2 fuel oil (typical household fuel)
13	5	Propane*	litres	1.515	EF are for each litre of propane
14		Gasoline*	litres	2.307	EF are for each litre of gasoline
15		Diesel*	litres	2.75	EF are for each litre of diesel
16	6	Wood (see Note below)	kg	0.2	EF are for each kg wood burned in an EPA stove
17	7	Reduce Water Use	m3	0.31	EF are for each cubic metre of water (1,000 litres)
18	8	Increase Recycling of mixed material**	kg	2.25	EF per kg of typical mixed household recycling (including paper)
19	9	Composting (savings)**	kg	1.53	EF for each kg of organic material composted instead of landfilled
20	10	Reduce fine paper use (savings)**	kg	6.78	EF for reducing each kg of fine paper (~220 sheets)
21	11	Recycle fine paper (savings)**	kg	4.38	EF for recycling each kg of fine paper (~220 sheets)
22		* Emission Factors and Reference Values: for Ontario from Canada Environment & Climate Change, Version 2.0 May 2024
23		** Emission Factors from Waste Reduction Model (WARM), US EPA
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25		Emission Factors		GHG	Comments
26			Units	kg /unit
27	12	Wood stove	kg	0.2	EF are for each kg wood burned in a conventional "air-tight" stove
28	13	Gas mower	per 10-hr.	48	EF are for 10-hour session of a gas lawnmower
29	14	Gasoline: 2-stroke	/ hour	4.96	EF are for each hour operation of small 2-stroke engine
30	15	Electric mower kWh	per 10-hr.	0.45	EF are for 10-hour session of an electric lawnmower
31	16	Outboard motors 4-stroke	15 hr-session	144
32	17	Outboard motors 2-stroke	15 hr-session	198	EF are for 15-hour session of a 9.9 hp outboard motor
33	18	Tree planting	/ tree	-20	EF sequestering per year per tree planted
34	19	Food: local vs. imports	/ kg	-2	EF for each kilogram of local food
35	20	Space & Water Heating	GJ	33.9	EF is for average home and water heating per GJ of energy.
36	21	Diesel vehicle	/ km	0.24	EF for each km of a diesel-powered vehicle
37	22	Idling gas engine	/ min.	0.066	EF are for each minute of idling of a typical car
38	23	Vehicles	/ km	0.2	EF for each km of a gasoline-powered vehicle
39	24	Air travel	/ km	0.25	EF for each km of air travel
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42		Note on Natural Gas Emissions: The emissions factor for Natural Gas is generally listed as 1.921 kg eCO2/m3, but this does not include any upstream emissions associated with fracking, pumping, or processing. These fugitive emissions are especially problematic as they are releases of methane which has an eCO2 impact of 86X CO2 over a 20-year period. There is no consensus yet on how to account for these upstream emissions, with estimates varying from an additional 12% to 100% or higher. For the purposes of this Climate Lens, Natural Gas is given an emissions factor 1.25 X the basic factor. The emission factors for Propane and Electricity have not been adjusted at this time.
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44		Note on Wood Emissions: Wood burning has been considered a net-zero emission fuel. When burned in an efficient wood stove, wood releases levels of CO2 comparable to natural gas or oil. However, wood is part of a natural cycle of pulling CO2 from the atmosphere as it grows and releases it when its burned. This natural cycle however, can take 40 to 100 years. When considering the important 10 to 20 year timeline for reducing CO2 emissions, wood's impact is greater. For the purposes of this Climate Lens, wood is given an emissions factor somewhere around a quarter that of natural gas/oil.
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