Emission of Greenhouse Gases in the U.S. in 2005

Report by the Energy Information Administration

The U.S. Energy Policy Act of 1992 requires that the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) prepare an annual inventory of the aggregate national emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHG). The report for the year 2005 was published at the end of 2006. A few of the main figures follow:

Absolute increase, relative decrease

• The U.S. emitted 7.1472 billion tons of GHG in 2005, an increase of 0.6 per cent compared to 2004.
• Since the economy grew by 3.2 per cent in 2005, the GHG intensity was 2.5 per cent lower in 2005 than in 2004.
• The GHG emissions in 2005 were 17 per cent higher than in 1990. The annual increase over that period was 1.0 per cent. This increase is lower than the annual average growth in population (1.2 per cent), primary energy consumption (1.1 per cent), electric power generation (1.9 per cent), and gross domestic product (3.0 per cent).

Division per type of GHG

• Of all GHG emissions in 2005, 82.6 per cent consisted of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, 8.6 per cent of methane (CH4) emissions, 5.1 per cent of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, and 3.7 per cent of other gasses.
• Carbon dioxide emissions result from use of fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas. The residential sector generates 19.1 per cent of all fossil fuel emissions. The commercial sector is responsible for 15.7 per cent, the industrial sector for 33.8 per cent, and the transportation sector for 31.4 per cent.
• Methane emissions result mainly from landfills, livestock, coal mining, and natural gas systems.
• Nitrous oxide emissions result mainly from soil fertilizers and solid animal waste.

Emissions from the power sector

• Carbon dioxide emissions from the U.S. electric power sector increased by 2.8 per cent (from 2.3094 billion tons in 2004 to 2.3750 billion tons in 2005).
• They have grown by 32 per cent since 1990. There has been a slight decrease however (about 1.5 per cent) per unit of electricity produced during the period from 1990 to 2005.

Methane emissions

• Methane emissions in the U.S. have been on the rise again since 2002. The period from 1990 to 2002 saw a steady decrease in methane emissions, mainly thanks to increased methane recovery at landfills.

Download the report of the EIA