Moscow's Climate Action Plan in Context
Adopted October 7, 2022. 178 pages. Target: net-zero community emissions by 2050.
Every Pixel is Proportional
One bar. Every segment to scale. Find Moscow.
Climate Action Plan Timeline by Category
Source: City of Moscow Climate Action Plan (178 pages), adopted October 7, 2022. Framework: Cities Race to Zero campaign through ICLEI-USA.
If Moscow achieved net-zero tomorrow, the planet would not notice.
Moscow's Emissions Compared to Other Cities, States, and Nations
Sources: Moscow CAP (2019). Boise Climate Action (2024). Spokane GHG Inventory (2019). Seattle GHG Inventory (2022). Idaho: Boise State/EIA (2022). WA Dept. of Ecology (2021). LA Community GHG Inventory (2021). CARB (2022). NYC Climate Office (2023 est.). NYS DEC (2023). China: Our World in Data/IEA (2022). US: EPA GHG Inventory (2022). Global: IEA (2023). Shenzhen estimated from WRI/C40 data.
Emissions Comparison Table
| Entity | Population | MT CO2e | Per Capita | x Moscow | Year |
|---|
Per capita = total emissions / population. "x Moscow" = how many times larger than Moscow's 150,734 MT. Shenzhen is an estimate from WRI/C40 data. NYC 2023 is estimated from partial inventory data.
What these numbers mean in plain language.
Moscow's 150,734 metric tons of CO2e is a rounding error in every larger context. It is 0.39% of Idaho's state total. It is 0.0024% of U.S. national emissions. It is 0.0000004% of global emissions.
If Moscow achieved its net-zero target tomorrow, the effect on global temperatures would be unmeasurable. The city's entire annual output is less than what China emits every 7 minutes.
Even within Idaho, Moscow's emissions are smaller than Boise's by a factor of 12. Statewide, Idaho is itself a minor emitter, producing less than 1% of U.S. emissions.
Per capita tells a different story. Moscow's per-capita emissions (~5.8 MT/person) are below Idaho's state average (~22 MT/person) and below the U.S. average (~19 MT/person). This is partly because Moscow has relatively clean grid electricity (Avista hydro mix), a compact walkable downtown, and a large university population that drives less.
The honest question for Moscow residents: The Climate Action Plan's 178 pages lay out a genuine effort to reduce local emissions. Some actions (building efficiency, transit improvements, tree planting) produce real local benefits regardless of their climate impact. Others (grid decarbonization) are almost entirely dependent on Avista's decisions, not the city council's. The plan's cost to taxpayers and its effect on housing affordability and economic development should be weighed against its measurable impact, which at the global scale is zero.
Per Capita Emissions (MT CO2e per person)
Per capita calculated from total emissions / population. Moscow data from 2019 CAP. City populations are approximate (2023-2024 Census estimates). National figures from IEA/EPA.
Where the 150,734 tons come from. The CAP identifies transportation as the largest sector, followed by building energy. Moscow's 62 million vehicle miles traveled within city limits (2019) is the primary driver. The Water Reclamation Facility, city fleet, and streetlights make up the 3,655 MT municipal operations component.
The tree canopy (19.2% of city area) offsets about 3,100 MT/year through carbon sequestration, covering roughly 2% of community emissions.
Notably, every action item in the CAP is marked "Ongoing" with no specific completion dates, budget allocations, or measurable milestones beyond the two headline targets (56.6% by 2035, net-zero by 2050). The plan does not estimate the cost of achieving either target.