Greenhouse gas emissions by the United States

The United States produced 5.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2018,[2] the second largest in the world after China and among the worst countries by greenhouse gas emissions per person. Because coal-fired power stations are gradually shutting down, in the 2010s emissions from electricity generation fell to second place behind transportation, which is now the largest single source.[3]

Since 2000, rising CO
2 emissions in China and the rest of world have eclipsed the output of the United States and Europe.[1]
Per person, the United States generates carbon dioxide at a far faster rate than other primary regions.[1]
US greenhouse gas emissions by source
US emissions of CO2 and methane, 2018

Background

Sources and types of greenhouse gasses
Main article: Greenhouse gas

Greenhouse gasses refer to any number of gasses, including carbon dioxide, methane, and others, that absorb and emit radiant energy in the atmosphere. Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gasses have increased significantly since the Industrial Revolution, which most scientists concur is due to anthropogenic causes.

GHGs are produced from a wide variety of human activities, though some of the greatest impacts come from burning fossil fuels, deforestation, agriculture and industrial manufacturing. In the United States, power generation was the largest source of emissions for many years, but in 2017, the transportation sector overtook it as the leading emissions source. As of that year, the breakdown was transportation at 29%, followed by electricity generation at 28% and industry at 22%.[4]

After carbon dioxide, the next most abundant compound is methane, though there have been methodological differences in how to measure its effects. According to a 2016 study, US methane emissions were underestimated by the EPA for at least a decade, by some 30 to 50 percent.[5] Currently, the US government is working to reduce methane emissions in the agriculture, mining, landfill, and petroleum industries.[6]

Another area of concern is that of ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which are often potent greenhouse gasses with serious global warming potential (GWP). However, significant progress has been made in reducing the usage of these gasses as a result of the Montreal Protocol, the international treaty that took effect in 1989.

Major emissions-creating events

In February 2018, an explosion and blowout in a natural gas well in Belmont County, Ohio was detected by the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite's Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument. The well was owned by XTO Energy. About 30 homes were evacuated, and brine and produced water were discharged into streams flowing into the Ohio River. The blowout lasted 20 days, releasing more than 50,000 tons of methane into the atmosphere. The blowout leaked more methane than is discharged by most European nations in a year from their oil and gas industries.[7][8][9][10]

Government attitudes to GHG emissions

The United States government has held shifting attitudes toward addressing greenhouse gas emissions. The Bush administration opted not to sign the Kyoto Protocol to reduce emissions. The Obama administration attempted to adopt some Kyoto Protocol goals.

The US.State Department offered a nation-level perspective in the Fourth US Climate Action Report (USCAR) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including measures to address climate change.[11]

Reporting requirement

Reporting of greenhouse gasses was first implemented on a voluntary basis with the creation of a federal register of greenhouse gas emissions authorized under Section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. This program provides a means for utilities, industries, and other entities to establish a public record of their emissions and the results of voluntary measures to reduce, avoid, or sequester GHG emission

In 2009, the United States Environmental Protection Agency established a similar program mandating reporting for facilities that produce 25,000 or more metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This has resulted in thousands of US companies monitoring and reporting their greenhouse gas emissions, covering about half of all GHG emissions in the United States.[12]

A separate inventory of fossil fuel CO
2 emissions is provided by Project Vulcan, a NASA/DOE funded effort to quantify North American fossil fuel emissions over time.[13]

Mitigation Efforts
See also: Energy conservation in the United States and Climate change policy of the United States

Federal Policies

Cross-sectoral

Greenhouse gases other than CO2
  • Environmental Stewardship —The objective of this initiative is to limit emissions of HFCs, PFCs, and SF6 in three industrial applications: semiconductor production, electric power distribution, and magnesium production.

Transportation

As of 2011, 71% of petroleum consumed in the United States was used for transportation.[14]

Transportation in the United States is the largest source of greenhouse gas

Programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector include:

  • The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program requires automobile manufacturers to meet average fuel economy standards for the light-duty vehicles, large passenger vans and SUVs sold in the United States. Fuel economy standards vary according to the size of the vehicle.
  • FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership and Vehicle Technologies Program:
The program[15] works jointly with DOE's hydrogen, fuel cell, and infrastructure R&D efforts and the efforts to develop improved technology for hybrid electric vehicle, which include the hybrid electric components (such as batteries and electric motors).
The U.S. government uses six "criteria pollutants" as indicators of air quality: ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxides, particulate matter, and lead and does not include carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
  • Clean Cities: a network of local coalitions created by DOE in 1993 that works to support energy efficiency and clean fuel efforts in local transportation contexts.[16]
  • Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program.[17]
  • Aviation industry regulation: emissions from commercial and business jets make up 10% of U.S. transportation sector emissions and 3% of total national GHG emissions.[18] In 2016, the EPA issued an "endangerment finding" that allowed the agency to regulate aircraft emissions, and the first proposed standards under that legal determination were issued in July 2020.[19]
  • Developing alternative energy sources: The Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) supports research into biofuels as part of that agency's efforts to reduce transportation-related GHG emissions.[20][21]

Energy consumption, residential and commercial

As of 2010, buildings in the United States consume roughly 48% of the country's electricity and contribute a similar percentage of GHGs.[22]

  • EPA Clean Energy Programs - Energy Star
  • Commercial Building Integration[23] and Residential Building Integration (Build America).[24]
  • Weatherization Assistance Program[25]
  • State Energy Program[26]

Energy consumption, industrial

Energy supply
CO2 emissions from the US electric power sector
  • The Coalbed Methane Outreach Program (CMOP) works to reduce methane released into the atmosphere as a result of coal mining by supporting recovery of naturally occurring coal mine gases and encouraging the production of coalbed methane energy, among other uses.[28]
  • Natural Gas STAR Program
  • The government also supports alternative energy sources that do not rely on fossil fuels, including wind power[29], solar power[30], geothermal power[31], and biofuel[32].
  • These clean energy sources can often be integrated into the electric grid in what are known as distributed generation systems.[33]
  • EPA Clean Energy Programs - Green Power Partnership[34]
  • EPA Clean Energy Programs - Combined Heat and Power Partnership[35]
  • Carbon Capture and Storage Research Program[36]
    • Advanced Energy Systems Program[37]
    • CO2 Capture[38]
    • CO2 Storage[39]

Agriculture

Forestry

Waste management
  • The Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) promotes the use of landfill gas, a naturally occurring byproduct of decaying landfill waste, as a sustainable energy source.[40] Besides reducing emissions, landfill gas utilization has also been credited for reductions in air pollution, improvements to health and safety conditions, and economic benefits for local communities.[41]
  • In addition to reducing emissions from waste already in landfills, the EPA's WasteWise program works with businesses to encourage recycling and source reduction to keep waste out of landfills in the first place.[42]

Regional initiatives
In 2007 NGA announced plans to expand statewide regulations on GHG emissions and clean energy initiatives. Governors Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas led a task force along with six other governors to promote renewable energy, conservation, and a reduction in GHG emissions through statewide policies. The US Department of Energy provided $610,000 in support for this initiative.
As chairman of NGA, Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) said that on energy issues, "We have a federal government that doesn't seem to want to move as fast or as bold as many would like." With states creating their own emissions standards, Pawlenty said, there will be a push for the federal government to come up with a nationwide energy policy to address global warming. If enough states act to reduce GHG emissions, it would "become a de facto national policy".[47]

State Policies

California
  • Vehicle Air Pollution (SR 27)- States and implies that California Senate does not have to adhere to cutbacks in emissions standards further allowing stricter emissions standards than the federal government for the state of California.[48] Under this senate resolution the current administration or other federal powers will be opposed by California in any reduction or cutback of the Clean Air Act policies that are currently in place; allowing California to have higher emissions and air quality standards. This policy is because of the threat by the current administration's efforts to reverse environmental policies, in this case vehicle emissions standards.[49] This opposition of federal policy changes is allowed through California's Clean Air Act preemption waiver granted to the state by the EPA on July 8, 2009.[50]  California's waiver applies to vehicles made in 2009 and later.[50] The current standard being followed by the state is a goal of all vehicles reaching an average of 35 miles per gallon.[Environmental protection Agency Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 129 / 1][50] California saw a large decline in vehicle emissions from 2007 to 2013 as well as a rise in emissions following 2013 which can be attributed to different circumstances some of which include increased population, increased employment, increase in overall state GDP meaning more productivity in the state.[51]
  • Vehicle Registration: Environmental Rebates (SB 745)- Establishes a rebate for any transportation improvement fee on a vehicle. This Senate Bill allots funds from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the Climate Policy Special rebate fund and which are then transferred to the department of motor vehicles to pay for newly registered vehicles or renewed vehicles. According to the policy the cost per vehicle is to be displayed in the registration paperwork.[48]

Lead by example programs
  • New Hampshire's Building Energy Conservation Initiative
  • New Jersey's Green Power Purchasing Program
  • Atlanta's Virginia Highland - 1st Carbon Neutral Zone in the United States[52][53]

Technologies in development
  • Carbon Sequestration Regional Partnerships[45]
  • Nuclear:
    • Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems Initiative
    • Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative
    • Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative
    • Global Nuclear Energy Partnership
  • Clean Automotive Technology
  • Hydrogen Technology[54]
  • and High-temperature superconductivity

Non-governmental responses

Individual action
Main article: Individual action on climate change

Recommended actions individuals can take on climate change include diet, travel alternatives, household energy use, reduced consumption and family size. Individuals can also engage in local and political advocacy around issues of climate change.[55][56]

Business community
Main article: Business action on climate change

Grassroots activism
See also: List of environmental and conservation organizations in the United States

International efforts
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See also

Notes
  1. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2009-07-08/pdf/E9-15943.pdf

References
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  5. "US methane emissions are drastically underestimated, a new study shows". PRI. 2016.
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