Inventory of Voluntary Actions to Reduce Greenhouse Gases

Information on reporting voluntary actions taken by businesses and governmental entities in the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is accepting information on voluntary actions taken by businesses and governmental entities in the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. House Bill 1796 passed by the 81st Texas Legislature requires the TCEQ to establish an inventory of voluntary actions to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. This information may be used later to work with the Environmental Protection Agency to give credit for early actions taken in the event federal regulations are adopted for greenhouse gases.

Voluntary Actions Reporting

Entities interested in reporting voluntary actions to reduce greenhouse gases may provide emissions reduction data using the link to the Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reduction Report Form located below. The following criteria must be met in order for reductions to be included:

Greenhouse gas reductions must be based on direct emissions reductions.
Greenhouse gas reductions must be reported at an individual project level.
Greenhouse gas reductions must be obtained within the State of Texas.
Greenhouse gas reductions must be achieved after September 1, 2001.

Data that is reported for the inventory of voluntary actions must be creditable. The greenhouse gas reductions must be:

Real – Greenhouse gas reductions should be based only on actual emissions.
Surplus - Greenhouse gas reduction strategies implemented for a site must reduce the actual emissions from the site beyond any applicable, local, state, or federal requirements.
Quantifiable – Greenhouse gas reductions must be quantified using replicable methodologies and standard protocols.
Permanent – Greenhouse gas reductions must be ever-lasting and unchanged for the life of the facility.
Verifiable - Greenhouse gas reductions must be able to be verified.

All information received will be retained use in seeking early action credit. The Voluntary Actions Report Forms have been updated to include reductions acheived in 2010.

Voluntary Actions Report Form and Instructions

Information regarding completion and submittal of the Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions Report Form (Report Form) is available in Voluntary Actions Report Form Instructions.

The TCEQ has developed a Microsoft Excel Report Form for use in reporting reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. Please use the following link to utilize the Voluntary Actions Report Form.

For entities that are not able to utilize the Microsoft Excel version of the Report Form, an Adobe Acrobat PDF version has been created. Information can be entered and submitted or printed using Adobe Acrobat but it cannot be saved. Use the following link to utilize the PDF version of the Voluntary Actions Report Form PDF.

An example completed form has been created as a reference. The following link provides an example of greenhouse gas reductions associated with a Stationary Source Engine Shutdown PDF.

References to Assist with Calculating and Certifying Greenhouse Gas Reductions

Additional tools and references are provided on the following links. The links below will take you off the TCEQ Web site.

EPA Resources for Climate Change Strategies
http://www.epa.gov/climateleaders

Simplified Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator
http://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/documents/sgec_tool_v3_1.xls

Agriculture and Forestry Processes that Sequester Carbon and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/agforestry.html

Chicago Climate Exchange Offset Verification Guidance
http://www.chicagoclimatex.com/content.jsf?id=23

The Climate Registry Verification Guidance
http://www.theclimateregistry.org/resources/verification/

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