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

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.