U.S. Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions Down in 2008

Record-high oil prices and a decline in economic activity in the second half of the year resulted in a decrease of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions of 2.8 percent last year, according to preliminary estimates issued Wednesday by the federal Energy Information Administration.

Traffic in Sacramento, California. Record high gas prices in 2008 kept drivers off the road. (Photo by Ian Britton courtesy FreeFoto.com)

Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions account for more than 80 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

These emissions decreased from 5,967 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2007 to 5,802 MMTCO2 in 2008, the EIA reported.

The economy, as measured by Gross Domestic Product, GDP, grew by 1.1 percent in 2008, even taking into account the economic downturn at the end of the year, but energy demand declined by 2.2 percent, indicating that energy intensity - energy use per unit of GDP - fell by 3.3 percent in 2008, the agency said.

Carbon dioxide intensity - carbon dioxide emission per unit of GDP - fell by about 3.8 percent, the EIA estimates.

Oil-related emissions declined by six percent, accounting for the bulk of overall reduction in energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Coal emissions decreased by 1.1 percent, while natural gas emissions increased by 1.0 percent, EIA data shows.

Total U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions have grown by 15.9 percent since 1990, about one percent a year.

As a whole, the electric power sector is the largest single source of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, responsible for about 41 percent of total emissions.

In 2008, emissions from the electric power sector decreased by 2.1 percent, while power generation decreased by 1.0 percent. EIA says the decrease in the emissions intensity of generation of 1.1 percent in 2008 reflected an increase in wind-powered generation.

EIA preliminary fossil fuel consumption data for 2008 indicate that:

• Transportation emissions, which account for about a third of total energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, decreased by 5.2 percent in 2008.

  Since 1990, the next largest yearly decline in the transportation sector was 1.3 percent in 1991.

  Only one other year in the 1990 to 2008 time period experienced a decline - 1.2 percent in 2001.

• Carbon dioxide emissions from the residential sector declined by 1.1 percent in 2008. Heating degree-days rose by 5.6 percent, but the summer was also cooler than 2007 and cooling degree-days fell by 8.7 percent, which helped to offset the increase in heating-related energy demand.


• The commercial sector - stores, office buildings, schools, hospitals, and government buildings - experienced an emissions increase of 0.5 percent in 2008.


• Industrial carbon dioxide emissions from manufacturing, agriculture, construction and mining fell by 3.2 percent in 2008, continuing a trend of falling industrial sector emissions since 2004.

From 1990 to 2007, the latest year of data for all greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide intensity had fallen by 26.4 percent and emissions of total greenhouse gases per dollar of GDP had fallen by 28.0 percent.

The Energy Information Administration says it will continue to refine its estimates of 2008 carbon dioxide emissions as more complete energy data become available.

A full inventory of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2008 to be issued in late 2009 will include updated energy data and provide a further analysis of trends.

The preliminary estimates are on EIA's website at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/flash/flash.html

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