Delaware Code Title 7. Conservation § 10002. Definitions

(1) “2005 baseline” means the 2005 statewide greenhouse gas emissions, as determined by the Department’s Division of Air Quality.

(2) “2030 target” means the greenhouse gas emissions reduction requirement set forth in § 10003(a) of this chapter.

(3) “2050 target” means the greenhouse gas emissions reduction requirement set forth in § 10003(b) of this chapter.

(4) “Carbon dioxide equivalent” means a metric used to quantify greenhouse gas emissions, measured in metric tons, which accounts for the relative global-warming potential of different kinds of greenhouse gases.

(5) “Chief Climate Change Officer” means the Director of the Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy at the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

(6) “Climate Action Plan” means Delaware’s Climate Action Plan issued in November 2021, and all updated Climate Action Plans as required in § 10004 of this chapter.

(7) “Climate change officer” means the individuals designated by the Secretary of each of the key cabinet-level departments to coordinate with the Chief Climate Change Officer on the process of implementation of the strategies identified in the Climate Action Plan, and on the process of updating the Climate Action Plan.

(8) “Delaware’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory” means an annual report that provides a comprehensive accounting of total statewide greenhouse gas emissions from all man-made sources.  The gases covered by the inventory include carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃).  The inventory also calculates carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere by “sinks,” e.g., through the uptake of carbon and storage in forests, vegetation, and soils.

(9) “Department” means the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

(10) “Global warming potential” means an index representing the combined effect of the differing times greenhouse gases remain in the atmosphere and their relative effectiveness in absorbing outgoing infrared radiation.

(11) “Greenhouse gas” means carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂0), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃), and any other substance determined by the Department through regulation that is emitted into the air that may be reasonably anticipated to cause or contribute to anthropogenic climate change.

(12) “Greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets” means the 2030 target and the 2050 target.

(13) “Key cabinet-level departments” mean those departments in State government with the greatest ability to shape and implement the Climate Action Plan.  Those departments are:

(14) “Net” means that when measuring total annual emissions for purposes of the 2030 target or the 2050 target, emissions may be offset by strategies involving land use, land use change, agriculture, forestry, and also by strategies involving carbon storage or sequestration projects or other mechanisms approved by the Department.

(15) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

(16) “State agency” means “agency” as defined in § 6902 of Title 29.

(17) “Statewide greenhouse gas emissions” means the total annual emissions of greenhouse gases in the State, measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, and includes all emissions of greenhouse gases from all economic sectors including electric power, transportation, industrial, residential and commercial buildings, agriculture, waste management, and energy sectors. Statewide greenhouse gas emissions includes emissions from the generation of electricity delivered to and consumed within the State, regardless of where the electricity is generated.