News & Trends

According to a report released last December by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions are rising in the United States, but the intensity of GHG has been on the decline. GHG emissions increased by 2.0 percent in 2004, from 6,983 million metric tons (MMT) carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent in 2003 to 7,122 MMT in 2004.  The increase in emissions is well below the economic growth rate of 4.2 percent but considerably above the average annual growth rate of 1.1 percent in GHG emissions since 1990.

Meanwhile, U.S. GHG intensity—that is, emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP)—fell from 677 metric tons per million dollars of GDP (measured in 2000 constant dollars) in 2003 to 662 metric tons per million dollars in 2004, a decline of 2.1 percent. 

For the future, EIA’s “Annual Energy Outlook” forecasts that CO₂ emissions from energy use will increase at an average annual rate of 1.2 percent for the next 25 years.  The carbon intensity of the economy will continue to decline at an average annual rate of 1.7 percent through the same period.  EIA also reported that, while in 1990 land use change and forestry practices sequestered enough CO₂ to offset 16.9 percent of U.S. manmade GHG emissions, in 2003 (the last year of available data) that offset declined to 11.9 percent.

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© 2008 Edison Electric Institute