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Net US greenhouse gas emissions totaled 5.769 billion mt of
carbon dioxide-equivalent in 2019, a 1.7% decrease from 2018,
according to the 28th annual Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas
Emissions and Sinks, released by the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) 14 April. This left annual emissions 13%
below 2005 levels, but 1.8% above their level in 1990, the first
year for which EPA began collecting the data.
"While many long-term and short-term factors influence annual
[GHG] emissions in recent years, the downward GHG emissions trend
can be largely attributed to falling emissions in the electric
power sector," EPA said in a statement.
The report came out about a week before the 22-23 April Leaders'
Climate Summit, organized by President Joe Biden to bring together
more than 40 nations to discuss how to speed up reductions in
emissions around the world (see related article).
The EPA GHG inventory covers seven key greenhouse gases: carbon
dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons,
perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride. In
addition to tracking US GHG emissions, the inventory also
calculates CO2 that is removed from the atmosphere through the
uptake of carbon in forests and other vegetation (sequestration).
Sequestration in 2019 reduced net GHG emissions from 6.558 billion
mt CO2-equivalent to the 5.769 billion mt net number, EPA said.
In 2019, CO2 accounted for 80.1% of the net emissions, and
methane accounted 10.1% (see graph).
Methane's emissions, however, have a global warming impact 84
times more potent than that of CO2 over a 25-year period, which has
led to a governmental focus on reducing those emissions. US methane
emissions were 13.9% lower in 2019 than they were in 1990, EPA
said, with the energy industry reducing its methane emissions by
25.9% during that period.
Looking at GHG emissions by economic sector, in 2019,
transportation was the largest contributor at 29%, followed closely
by power generation (25%) and industry (23%). Further behind were
agriculture (10%), commercial buildings (7%), and residential
buildings (6%).
Looking at the 2018-2019 trendlines by industry, emissions
decreased by 2.3% year on year in the power industry, and
sequestration improved by 1.5%. However, industrial GHG emissions
increased by 1.4% and agricultural emissions increased by 4.6%.
Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC), national inventories are submitted to the UNFCCC
Secretariat each year by 15 April.
Although EPA's data are the official numbers submitted to the
UNFCCC, environmental groups say that advanced emissions monitoring
technology suggests that EPA's methods of calculating emissions
could be undercounting key sectors.
"Direct scientific measurements suggest that actual oil and gas
methane pollution is twice the new EPA GHG inventory estimate,"
Lauren Pagel, Earthworks policy director, said after the GHG
inventory was released. "Knowing about the
undercount, President Biden should include concrete methane targets
in the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which sets the
national climate reduction goal, and use the full power of the
Clean Air Act to reduce oil and gas methane emissions 65% by
2025."
The NDC is the US' commitment to reducing GHG emissions by 2030,
as part of its participation in the Paris Climate Treaty. Biden has
been encouraged by environmental groups and more than 300
businesses to propose a 50% GHG reduction from the 2005 baseline as
the new US NDC in time for the next global climate meeting in
November in Glasgow, Scotland. The current US figure, set by
President Obama in 2016, is a goal of 26-28% GHG reductions by
2030.
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