March 29, 2004—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a draft version of the “Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2002” for a 30-day public comment period. The report, prepared annually by EPA in collaboration with other federal agencies, is reportedly one of the most comprehensive analyses of greenhouse gases in the world.
The major finding in this year’s report is that overall emissions increased slightly by 0.7% from 2001 to 2002. This increase was due primarily to moderate economic growth in 2002 that increased demand for electricity and fossil fuels, according to the EPA. A secondary contributor included hot summer conditions in 2002, which also increased demand for electricity and fossil fuels.
Overall, total U.S. emissions have risen by 13% from 1990 to 2002, while the U.S. economy has grown by 42% over the same period. Total emissions of the six main greenhouse gases were 6,934 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2002. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. Fossil fuel combustion was the largest source of emissions, accounting for 81% of the total.
