News Updates

Communities in northeastern Illinois can take action to reduce emissions with new regional and community-level data

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is working with the 7 counties, 284 communities and 77 Chicago neighborhoods in northeastern Illinois to improve air quality by reducing carbon emissions.

CMAP’s newly updated inventory shows that between 2010 and 2019, overall greenhouse gas emissions in northeastern Illinois decreased by 9 percent. While this is progress, the region has a shared goal of reducing emissions by 5 percent annually through 2050.

“Knowledge is power. CMAP is committed to arming our partners with comprehensive data and analysis in order to solve complex, challenging problems like climate change,” CMAP Executive Director Erin Aleman said. “Leveraging this data and working strategically together, we can take action and improve our region’s environment and our ecosystems, and our health and well-being.”

For the first time, CMAP produced individualized data summaries by county, community, and Chicago neighborhood that provide a snapshot of emissions from the building, transportation, and waste sectors. Local governments, sustainability committees, and others are encouraged to use this data to develop local climate action plans.

CMAP conducts the regional greenhouse gas inventory every five years to understand emissions in northeastern Illinois. Emissions are measured from three sectors: stationary energy, transportation, and waste. This most recent inventory uses 2019 data due to the pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders. Data from 2019 are more representative of long-term trends in the region than 2020.

In ON TO 2050, the comprehensive plan for northeastern Illinois, CMAP set a goal for the region to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent, relative to 2005 levels, by 2050. This target aligns with the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping global warming to below 2° Celsius (3.7° Fahrenheit).

Other highlights from the emissions inventory report show that:

• Transportation emissions continue to increase: Transportation emissions increased by 2 percent between 2010 and 2019. It is the only sector that saw an increase in emissions. Although fuel efficiency increased during this time, it was offset by an increase in total and per capita vehicle miles traveled.
• Most greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings: Roughly two-thirds of the region’s emissions come from buildings, in the form of electricity or natural gas for heating and cooking. Electricity emissions have steadily decreased as the region’s electric grid transitions away from carbon-intensive fuel sources, such as coal, to less carbon-intensive sources, such as solar and wind. Emissions from natural gas remain unchanged.
• Emissions vary greatly between counties: Chicago and Cook County produce the most total emissions but are the lowest for emissions per capita. Will County produces the most emissions per capita.