Climate change from greenhouse gases (GHG) entering the atmosphere has led to a rapid increase in global temperatures, in turn producing an abundance of cascading and negative effects on the environment. Over 75 percent of global GHG emissions are released from medium to large cities, implicating the necessity for determining what activities are releasing emissions and how to decrease them. Through tracking harmful emissions by sector, city municipalities can paint a complete picture of place-based emission rates and thus establish policies that provide more sustainable energy and fuel consumption practices within these sectors. 

This greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory report was prepared to estimate GHG emissions being produced within Williston’s boundaries to help guide the town's decisions in prioritizing implementation actions in the town's Energy Plan. Whereas the state of Vermont and Chittenden County have prepared GHG emissions’ inventories in the past, the town of Williston lacks a comprehensive understanding of their own respective emissions sources and totals. 

In 2023 the town contracted with the University of Vermont Rubenstein School of Natural Resources, NR206 - Environmental Problem-Solving course to conduct a Greenhouse Gas Inventory for Williston. The inventory provides an estimate for the GHG emissions produced from automobiles, waste disposal, and stationary sources(electric and gas) in 2022.  However, the GHG inventory does not include agricultural, wastewater, or petroleum sources. 

The results of the GHG inventory found that the largest sector of emissions for Williston were mobile sources of emissions, primarily passenger vehicles and light trucks, nearing 50% of the total emissions. Natural gas consisted of close to 40% of total emissions, and waste and electrical sources total to about 10% of emissions. In addition, the GHG inventory includes infographics displaying the results that are designed to be intelligible to a large range of different audiences. The goal of this GHG inventory is to inform climate action planning, demonstrate accountability, and motivate government action for the Town of Williston. 

Infographics on emissions for each sector are presented below. The full report provides greater details on the methods of the inventory.