Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2008
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DOE/EIA-0573(2008) Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2008 December 2009 U.S. Energy Information Administration Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting U.S. Department of Energy Washington, DC 20585 This report was prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. By law, EIA’s data, analyses, and forecasts are independent of approval by any other officer or employee of the United States Government. The views in this report therefore should not be construed as representing those of the Department of Energy or other Federal agencies. Contacts This report, Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United 202/586-0934 (e-mail, [email protected]). States 2008, was prepared under the general direction Without the assistance of Science Applications Inter- of John Conti, Director of the Office of Integrated Anal- national Corporation (SAIC), this report would not ysis and Forecasting, and Glen E. Sweetnam, Director, have been possible. In particular we would like International, Economic, and Greenhouse Gases Divi- to thank Erin Beddingfield, Keith Forbes, Kristin sion, Energy Information Administration. General Igusky, Makely Lyon, Michael Mondshine, and Rich- questions concerning the content of this report may be ard Richards. We also wish to acknowledge the work directed to the National Energy Information Center at done by our summer intern, Christine Donnelly (EIA). 202/586-8800. Technical information concerning the content of the Specific questions about the report should be referred report may be obtained from Perry Lindstrom at to the following analysts: Overview ...............................Paul McArdle ([email protected], 202/586-4445) Carbon Dioxide..........................Perry Lindstrom ([email protected], 202/586-0934) Methane ................................Perry Lindstrom ([email protected], 202/586-0934) Nitrous Oxide ...........................Perry Lindstrom ([email protected], 202/586-0934) High-GWP Gases (Greenhouse Gases with High Global Warming Potentials) ....Paul McArdle ([email protected], 202/586-4445) Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forests . Paul McArdle ([email protected], 202/586-4445) For this report, activity data on coal and natural gas consumption and electricity sales and losses by sector were obtained from the November 2009 Monthly Energy Review (MER). In keeping with current international practice, this report presents data on greenhouse gas emissions in million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent. The data can be converted to carbon equivalent units by multiplying by 12/44. ii U.S. Energy Information Administration / Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2008 Preface Title XVI, Section 1605(a) of the Energy Policy Act of Administration shall annually update and analyze 1992 (enacted October 24, 1992) provides: such inventory using available data. This subsection does not provide any new data collection authority. Not later than one year after the date of the enact- ment of this Act, the Secretary, through the Energy This report—the seventeenth annual report—presents Information Administration, shall develop, based on the Energy Information Administration’s latest esti- data available to, and obtained by, the Energy Infor- mates of emissions for carbon dioxide, methane, mation Administration, an inventory of the national nitrous oxide, and other greenhouse gases. Documen- aggregate emissions of each greenhouse gas for each tation for these estimates is available online at calendar year of the baseline period of 1987 through www.eia.doe. gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt. 1990. The Administrator of the Energy Information U.S. Energy Information Administration / Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2008 iii This page intentionally left blank. Contents Greenhouse Gas Emissions Overview .................................................................. 1 Total Emissions .................................................................................. 1 Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Fuel and End-Use Sector................................... 2 Decomposition of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Changes ...................................................... 3 Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the U.S. Economy....................................................... 4 U.S. Emissions in a Global Perspective ............................................................... 7 Recent U.S. and International Developments in Global Climate Change ................................... 9 Units for Measuring Greenhouse Gases .............................................................. 12 Methodology Updates for This Report ............................................................... 14 Carbon Dioxide Emissions............................................................................ 15 Total Emissions .................................................................................. 15 Energy-Related Emissions ......................................................................... 16 Carbon Capture and Storage: A Potential Option for Reducing Future Emissions ........................... 17 Residential Sector................................................................................. 20 Commercial Sector................................................................................ 21 Industrial Sector .................................................................................. 22 Transportation Sector ............................................................................. 23 Electric Power Sector .............................................................................. 24 Nonfuel Uses of Energy Inputs ..................................................................... 25 Adjustments to Energy Consumption................................................................ 27 Other Sources .................................................................................... 28 Methane Emissions .................................................................................. 29 Total Emissions .................................................................................. 29 Energy Sources................................................................................... 30 Agriculture ...................................................................................... 31 Waste Management ............................................................................... 32 Industrial Processes ............................................................................... 33 Nitrous Oxide Emissions ............................................................................. 35 Total Emissions .................................................................................. 35 Agriculture ...................................................................................... 36 Energy Use ...................................................................................... 37 Industrial Sources ................................................................................ 38 Waste Management ............................................................................... 39 High-GWP Gases .................................................................................... 41 Total Emissions .................................................................................. 41 Hydrofluorocarbons .............................................................................. 42 Perfluorocarbons ................................................................................. 43 Sulfur Hexafluoride............................................................................... 44 Land Use ........................................................................................... 45 Overview........................................................................................ 45 Forest Lands and Harvested Wood Pools ............................................................. 46 Croplands and Grasslands ......................................................................... 47 Urban Trees, Yard Trimmings, and Food Scraps ....................................................... 48 Glossary ............................................................................................ 49 U.S. Energy Information Administration / Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2008 v Tables 1. U.S. Emissions of Greenhouse Gases, Based on Global Warming Potential, 1990-2008 .................... 1 2. U.S. Greenhouse Gas Intensity and Related Factors, 1990-2008 ........................................ 3 3. World Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Region, 1990-2030 ................................ 8 4. Greenhouse Gases and 100-Year Net Global Warming Potentials ...................................... 13 5. U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Energy and Industry, 1990-2008 .................................. 15 6. U.S. Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions by End-Use Sector, 1990-2008........................... 16 7. U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Residential Sector Energy Consumption, 1990-2008 ................. 20 8. U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Commercial Sector Energy Consumption, 1990-2008 ................ 21 9. U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Industrial Sector Energy Consumption, 1990-2008 .................. 22 10. U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Transportation Sector Energy Consumption, 1990-2008.............