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U.S. Greenhouse Gas 2003 Inventory Submitted to U.N.

Release Date: 04/27/2005
Contact Information:


Contact: John Millett, 202-564-7842 / [email protected]

(04/27/05) EPA has submitted the "Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2003" to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The major finding in this year's report is that overall emissions increased by 0.6 percent from 2002 to 2003, though emission levels in 2003 still remained below 2000 emission levels. This increase was due primarily to moderate economic growth in 2003, which increased demand for electricity and fossil fuels. The price of natural gas escalated dramatically in 2003, causing some electric power producers to switch to coal, which led to a higher carbon intensity in the fuels used to produce electricity. Colder winter conditions brought on more demand for heating fuels, primarily in the residential sector. Overall, emissions have grown by 13 percent from 1990 to 2003, while the U.S. economy has grown by 46 percent over the same period.

Total emissions of the six main greenhouse gases were 6,900 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2003. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. Fossil fuel combustion was the largest source of emissions, accounting for 80 percent of the total.

The "Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2003" is prepared annually by the EPA, in collaboration with experts from a dozen other federal agencies, and is one of the most comprehensive analyses of greenhouse gas emissions in the world.

The report is available online at: https://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/publications/emissions .