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The Carbon Budget Of California, Christopher Potter

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

The carbon budget of a region can be defined as the sum of annual fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO₂₎ and methane (CH₄) greenhouse gases (GHGs) into and out of the regional surface coverage area. According to the state government’s recent inventory, California’s carbon budget is presently dominated by 115 MMTCE per year in fossil fuel emissions of CO₂ (>85% of total annual GHG emissions) to meet energy and transportation requirements. Other notable (non-ecosystem) sources of carbon GHG emissions in 2004 were from cement- and lime-making industries (7%), livestock-based agriculture (5%), and waste treatment activities (2%). …