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U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Released for Public Comment

Release Date: 03/01/2005
Contact Information:

Contact: John Millett, 202-564-7818 / millet.john@epa.gov


(03/01/05) EPA has released a draft of the annual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2003 for a 30-day public comment period. This year's inventory indicates that greenhouse gas emissions increased by 0.6 percent from 2002 to 2003, remaining below emission levels in 2000. The increase was due primarily to 2003's moderate economic growth, which increased demand for electricity and fossil fuels. From 1990 to 2003, emissions have grown by 13 percent, while the U.S. economy has grown by 46 percent.

Total emissions of the six main greenhouse gases were 6,899 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. After EPA completes a final version of the document, the Department of State will submit the Inventory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

A Federal Register notice announcing a 30-day public comment period on the report was published on Feb. 28, 2005. The report is available online at:
https://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/publications/emissions .