Tennessee ranks #1 in U.S. with most metro areas having large carbon footprint

Tennessee's four largest metro areas rank among the top 25 in the country for having the highest level of global warming emissions per capita, according to a report released today examining the carbon footprint of U.S. urban centers. The report, written by the Brookings Institution with additional analysis by the Southern Environmental Law Center, found that Nashville (#6), Knoxville (#10), Chattanooga (#13), and Memphis (#24) have some of the largest carbon footprints in the U.S. The study, Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of Metropolitan America, examines the most significant sources of carbon dioxide emitted by the 100 largest metro areas in 2000 and 2005, reviewing auto and tractor-trailer transportation, and residential energy emissions.

"Greenhouse gas pollution is high throughout the South, but Tennessee has the dubious distinction of having more metro areas with a larger carbon footprint than any other state" said Trip Pollard, Director of SELC's Land & Community Program. "Southerners are extremely dependent on driving and we use a lot of dirty sources of electricity, so we end up with larger-than-average carbon footprints."

The report found that residents of the largest metro areas generally have a smaller per-person carbon footprint than citizens in the nation as a whole. Although carbon emissions from urban centers have continued to climb, the carbon footprint of someone living in a large metro area is 14 percent smaller than the average American's and, in recent years, has expanded by only half as much. The researchers also found that more geographically compact regions with rail transit offer a more energy and carbon efficient lifestyle than more sprawling, automobile-dependent areas.

"In recent years, many state and local governments have taken steps to improve energy efficiency, provide more transportation choices, and curb carbon emissions," Pollard added. "Although Tennessee has taken some initial, promising steps recently, it has lagged in this effort."

The federal government has been slow-moving as well. The report notes that federal transportation funding favors highway construction over rapid transit, while federal policy fails to promote energy efficiency in housing.

"Metros can't go it alone in solving as vast a problem as global climate change," said Mark Muro, policy director of the Metropolitan Policy Program and the co-author of a forthcoming Brookings policy agenda to be issued as part of the institution's Blueprint for American Prosperity, a multi-year initiative to promote metro-friendly federal policies.

Pollard called on Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker to support incentives in the Warner-Lieberman carbon-cap proposal to help make communities more walkable and provide greater transportation choices. He also called for state and local steps to reduce Tennessee's greenhouse gas emissions, such as improving transit and freight rail, and promoting smarter growth patterns.

"The good news is that we can have a huge positive impact by taking steps that will cut our energy bills, improve our health, and sustain our economy," Pollard said.

The report and profiles of individual metro areas are available at http://www.brookings.edu/metro/CarbonFootprint.aspx