Scope 2 estimates of carbon dioxide emissions from electricity consumption at the US census block group scale

Kevin R Gurney; Pawlok Dass; Anna Kato; Bhaskar Mitra; Modeste Kameni Nematchoua

doi:10.1038/s41597-024-04180-5

Scope 2 estimates of carbon dioxide emissions from electricity consumption at the US census block group scale

Sci Data. 2024 Dec 18;11(1):1344. doi: 10.1038/s41597-024-04180-5.

Authors

Kevin R Gurney¹, Pawlok Dass², Anna Kato², Bhaskar Mitra², Modeste Kameni Nematchoua²

Affiliations

¹ School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, USA. kevin.gurney@nau.edu.
² School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, USA.

Abstract

This paper introduces and describes a dataset representing United States carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from electricity consumption (scope 2 CO₂ emissions) for the 2019-2021 time period separately for the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. The spatial resolution is the U.S. census block group at annual time resolution. We also provide state-scale aggregate data. Given the increased interest in greenhouse gas mitigation at the urban landscape scale, this data offers the opportunity to better understand the emitting landscape and craft more targeted, efficient policy instruments. The approach starts with well-established estimates of scope 2 CO₂ emissions at larger scales and performs a series of downscaling steps to allocate scope 2 emissions into block groups. This open-access scope 2 CO₂ emissions dataset and methodology is valuable for a wide range of multidisciplinary studies, including climate science, environmental policy, urban planning, and socioeconomic research.