The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the 16th annual U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory. The final report shows overall emissions during 2009 decreased by 6.1% from the previous year. This downward trend was attributed to a decrease in fuel and electricity consumption across all U.S. economic sectors.
Total emissions of the six main GHGs in 2009 were equivalent to 6,633 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.
The report indicates that overall emissions have grown by more than 7.3% from 1990 to 2009. Emissions in 2009 represent the lowest total U.S. annual GHG emissions since 1995. These numbers reflect the most up-to-date data at the time of publication.
This inventory, prepared in collaboration with federal agencies, is the latest submitted by the U.S. to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
