NASA GHG Emissions NEPA Considerations Linda Wennerberg, Ph.D. Environmental Management Division Erik Tucker SAIC

NEPA and GHG – NASA Applicability EO requires that NASA meet GHG emission reduction targets at the Agency level – NASA HQ has developed strategies to balance required GHG reductions across the Agency – Facility energy consumption represents the largest source of GHG emissions at NASA Federal Agencies all use a specific DOE FEMP developed GHG emissions accounting tool We are applying this tool again in estimating emissions from proposed NEPA actions and alternatives. 2

Common GHG Emissions Sources 3 Each of these sources is addressed in NASA’s NEPA Emission Estimation (N2E2) Tool

NASA FY2011 GHG Emissions by Source 4 Renewable energy allowances are provided for energy consumed that produces no GHG emissions, such as solar energy. Unlike biogenic emissions, which add zero to anthropogenic emissions, renewable allowances actually subtract emissions by acting as offset credits. Renewable energy allowances are subtracted from anthropogenic GHG emissions to yield net GHG emissions. Renewable allowances for Scope 2 represent credits for using purchased renewable energy and renewable allowances for Scope 3 are provided when a third party owns and operates renewable energy generation facilities on NASA-owned land.

NASA FY2008 to FY2011 GHG Emission Reductions Table 5 Scope 1 + Scope 2 Planned FY2011 Reduction = 4.58% Actual FY2011 Reduction = 10.4% Scope 3 Planned FY2011 Reduction = 3.08% Actual FY2011 Reduction = 16.5% Progress Towards Targets

NASA Internal Guidance Builds on existing guidance from NEPA and EO Encourages consistent application across NASA, and consistency with Federal Agency reporting Applications for determining quantitative or qualitative estimations of GHG emissions Applications for assessing qualitative climate change impacts 6

Template Document Specific NEPA actions will require decisions on quantitative versus qualitative responses To ensure consistent reporting, this template provides broad categories of suggested language for different response options The response option depends upon level of available information and the significance of emissions Provides a standardized record keeping mechanism for NEPA assessments 7

N2E2 Tool The N2E2 Tool is built upon the existing federal GHG emissions reporting tool The tool estimates annual GHG emissions, which must be added across the expected life of the project for total emissions from the action. Emphasis will be on projected changes in key aspects of infrastructure, energy use and personnel – The Excel spreadsheet tool permits annual operational GHG emissions projections based upon previously estimated changes in energy use, square footage, vehicle usage, and staffing, etc. – Without such input data, qualitative estimates will have to be accomplished 8

Questions? …Tool Demonstration to follow 9