Average New Yorker's Carbon Footprint Roughly Size 6

New Yorkers have some of the smallest carbon footprints in the nation, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution and the Regional Plan Association.

The report seeks to quantify the amount of carbon emitted fom transportation and from residential energy use in the nation's 100 largest metro regions in 2000 and in 2005.

The New York City metro area, including Long Island and Northern Jersey, fared pretty darn well when compared to Americans elsewhere:

• In 2005, the average New York resident emitted 0.825 tons of carbon from highway transportation, the lowest amount among the metro areas. The average American emitted 1.44 tons.
• In 2005, the average New York resident emitted 0.664 tons of carbon from automobiles specifically, the lowest amount among the metro areas.
• In 2005, the average New York resident emitted 0.670 tons of carbon from residential energy consumption, the 18th-lowest amount among the 100 metro areas. The average American emitted 1.16 tons.
• The region had the fourth-lowest carbon emissions per capita among the 100 other areas.

However! The region's carbon footprint jumped in the first half of the decade. Metropolitan New York's per capita footprint from transportation and residential energy use increased 7.73 percent between 2000 and 2005. For the nation during that period, it increased 2.2 percent.

The profiles of the 100 metro areas can be read here (PDF). New York's statistics are on page 61.