2022 Iowa Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Report

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources recently released the "2022 Iowa Statewide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Report".  The report showed those emissions decreased 3.21% since 2021, with the largest decrease coming from power plants.  In summary, the changes in Iowa’s greenhouse gas emissions come from:

• Reduced emissions from power plants, due to decreased generation of electricity from fossil fuels (14.68% decrease)
• Decreased emissions from vehicles, due to a decrease in miles driven (5.01% decrease)
• A decrease in emissions from residential, commercial, and industrial fuel use (.44% decrease)
• An increase in emissions from the agriculture sector, due to decreases in enteric fermentation, manure management, and agriculture soil management (.60% increase).  This increase was driven by an increase in the number of cattle raised in Iowa, plus an increase in the amount of synthetic fertilizer and an increase in the emissions from manure management.
• An increase in emissions from industrial processes (5.00% increase)
• An increase in the emissions from waste (1.82% increase)
• An increase in the emissions from natural gas transmission and distribution (.43% increase)

Iowa largest emissions come from the agriculture sector - 31% of Iowa's greenhouse gases emissions are from agriculture

Of the greenhouse gases emitted in Iowa,

• 31% come from the agriculture sector – livestock and crop production, enteric fermentation from cattle and other ruminant animals, and manure management
• 27% are from residential, commercial, and industrial fossil fuel use
• 17% from power plants
• 16% from transportation
• 6% from industrial processes
• 2% from waste production, such as landfills and wastewater treatment plants
• 1% are emitted during the transmission and distribution of natural gas

In order to reduce the effects of climate change, the emissions of greenhouse gases need to decline significantly. 

The Sierra Club has been diligently working on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Iowa. 

The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club has been working on reducing emissions from the agriculture sector, including issuing several policy documents

• Soil Health, executive summary
• Soil: Grounding Us in Transformative Systemic Change
• 5 Principles of Soil Health
• See video on "The 5 Principles of Soil Health"
• Over-application of Fertilizer - Maximum Return To Nitrogen

The Beyond Coal Campaign has been working on shuttering coal plants in Iowa, resulting in the large reductions of emissions from that sector.  

The Sierra Club is actively promoting the use of electric vehicles and the installation of more charging stations.

We will continue this work in 2024.

Source

“2022 Iowa Statewide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Report”, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, December 28, 2023