U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emission Trends and the Role of the Clean Power Plan

"Recent international negotiations and domestic policy developments have generated interest in current and projected U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emission levels. GHG emissions are generated throughout the United States from millions of discrete sources. Of the GHG source categories, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel combustion account for the largest percentage (76%) of total U.S. GHG emissions. The electric power sector contributes the largest percentage (39%) of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion.

In the context of international climate change negotiations, President Obama announced, on separate occasions, U.S. GHG emission reduction goals for both 2020 and 2025: 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 and 26% to 28% below 2005 levels by 2025. In 2014, U.S. GHG levels were 7.5% below 2005 levels. Whether the United States achieves its goals would likely depend, to some degree, on CO2 emissions from power plants..."
carbon dioxide emissions

Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2014

"This report is the authoritative reference for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, fuel economy, and powertrain technology trends for new personal vehicles in the United States. The detailed data supporting this report were obtained by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), directly from automobile manufacturers, to support implementation of EPA’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) programs. These data have been collected and maintained by EPA since 1975, and comprise the most comprehensive database of its kind. This report (the “Trends” report) has been published annually since 1975 and covers all passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, minivans, and all but the largest pickup trucks and vans.."

Fuel economy

Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions declined in 2012

"Energy-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in 2012 were the lowest in the United States since 1994, at 5.3 billion metric tons of CO₂ .
 With the exception of 2010, emissions have declined every year since 2007.
The largest drop in emissions in 2012 came from coal, which is used almost exclusively for electricity generation (see figure below). During 2012, particularly in the spring and early summer, low natural gas prices led to competition between natural gas- and coal-fired electric power generators..."
Carbon Dioxide Emissions: 2012

EPA Releases the 2010 Fuel Economy Trends Report/Carbon dioxide decreases as fuel economy increases
"For the sixth consecutive year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reporting a decrease in average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and a slight increase in the average fuel efficiency for new cars and light duty trucks, according to EPA’s annual report “Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2010”.

EPA projects a small improvement in 2010, based on pre-model year sales estimates provided by automakers, to 395 grams of CO2 per mile and 22.5 miles per gallon (mpg), though there is uncertainty in these projections as they were made during the atypical automotive market in 2009. The 2010 final data will be available in next year’s report.

For 2009, the last year EPA has final data from automakers, the average CO2 emissions from new vehicles were 397 grams per mile and the average fuel economy value was 22.4 mpg.

The report confirms that average CO2 emissions have decreased and fuel economy has increased each year beginning in 2005. Average CO2 emissions have decreased by 64 grams per mile, or 14 percent, and average fuel economy has increased by 3.1 mpg, or 16 percent, since 2004. The positive trend beginning in 2005 reverses a long period of increasing CO2 emissions and decreasing fuel economy from 1987 through 2004..."
View full report

EPA Announces Nation’s Top 50 Green Power Organizations
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named the 50 green power partners using the most renewable electricity. The Green Power Partnership’s top purchasers use more than 12 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the electricity use of more than 1 million average American homes. Green Power helps to prevent emissions from conventional power sources that are linked to harmful air pollution and climate change.

The top 10 on the list are Intel Corporation, Kohl’s Department Stores, Whole Foods Market, City of Houston, Dell Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Cisco Systems, Inc., commonwealth of Pennsylvania, U.S. Air Force, and the city of Dallas.

Green power is generated from renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas, and low-impact hydropower. Green power resources produce electricity with an environmental profile superior to conventional power technologies and produce no net increase to greenhouse gas emissions. Purchases of green power also help accelerate the development of new renewable energy capacity nationwide..."

New Commerce Department Reports Lay Foundation for Measuring Green Economy, Carbon Dioxide Emissions
"he U.S. Commerce Department’s Economics and Statistics Administration today released two new reports: one that defines and measures the size and scope of the green economy and another that looks at the ways in which the American economy's greenhouse gas emissions have changed over the past decade. Together, they provide valuable analytic tools needed to understand the emerging green economy, quantify greenhouse gas emissions and help inform future policy decisions.


“The Obama Administration's agenda for economic recovery depends in part on efforts to develop clean energy and energy-efficiency technology," Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. "These reports provide important insights and are a valuable foundation to measure our success as that agenda moves forward. These efforts could put millions of people to work in high-skill, high-wage jobs as opportunities to export green products and services expand and nations seek more energy sources.”

The first of the two reports, “Measuring the Green Economy,” provides an important initial step toward measuring the size and composition of the emerging green economy and the number of green jobs it has created. By using publicly-available data on more than 20,000 products and services, the report shows that the green economy is well-poised for growth..."

"The second report, “U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Intensities Over Time,” shows that, while significant work remains in curtailing greenhouse emissions, a large number of economic sectors have indeed become more energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) efficient -- particularly the manufacturing sector. The report reveals that households are responsible for about 30 percent of energy-related CO2 emissions, more than any other sector. It also provides a comprehensive accounting of carbon dioxide emissions across every economic sector – industry, the government and households – from 1998 to 2006, and lays out a understanding of changes in greenhouse gas emissions, in both total and per dollar of output..."

New Short-Term CO2 Emissions Forecasts
"Energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions account for about 98 percent of U.S. CO2 emissions (EIA, Emissions of Greenhouse Gases Report). The vast majority of CO2 emissions come from fossil fuel combustion (coal, natural gas, and petroleum), with small amounts from the nonfuel use of energy inputs, and emissions from electricity generation using nonbiogenic municipal solid waste and geothermal energy. Other sources include emissions from industrial processes, such as cement and limestone production.

The Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) now provides a history and forecast of CO2 emissions from the consumption of the three fossil fuels: coal, natural gas, and petroleum. The historical monthly CO2 emissions in the STEO database are from the EIA Monthly Energy Review, which will begin publishing monthly emissions in August 2009 edition, and the Emissions of Greenhouse Gases Report. The history and forecasts of CO2 emissions are available in the STEO as monthly, quarterly, and annual data series from Table 9a. U.S. Energy Indicators. Long-term forecasts of CO2 emissions are available in the EIA Annual Energy Outlook..."

Responses to Questions About the Cost of a Cap-and-Trade Program, June 12, 2009
"I am writing in response to your questions about an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that I discussed in my May 7 testimony before the Senate Finance Committee.

That testimony addressed the impacts of a possible cap-and-trade program for reducing U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). In that testimony, I indicated that the price increases associated with an illustrative cap-and-trade program that CBO considered would result in an average cost per household of $1,600 a year. That figure is an estimate of the gross perhousehold cost due to the imposition of a price on emissions; the net per-household cost, which accounts for other features of the program that would reduce households’ costs or raise their income, would be substantially lower. In addition, the $1,600 cost estimate derives from the
particular cap-and-trade program that CBO examined. The cost of cap-and-trade programs that have significantly different design features, such as the one that would be established under the bill recently approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee (H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009), could be significantly different..."

Capturing CO2 from Coal-Fired Power Plants: Challenges for a Comprehensive Strategy
"Any comprehensive approach to substantially reduce greenhouse gases must
address the world’s dependency on coal for a quarter of its energy demand,
including almost half of its electricity demand. To maintain coal in the world’s energy mix in a carbon-constrained future would require development of a technology to capture and store its carbon dioxide emissions. This situation suggests to some that any greenhouse gas reduction program be delayed until such carbon capture technology has been demonstrated. However, technological innovation and the demands of a carbon control regime are interlinked; a technology policy is no substitute for environmental policy and must be developed in concert with it..."

Community Acceptance of Carbon Capture and Sequestration Infrastructure: Siting Challenges
"Congressional policy makers are becoming aware that a national program of carbon capture and sequestration could require an extensive new network of carbonrelated infrastructure. Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is a three-part process involving a carbon dioxide (CO2) source facility, CO2 pipelines, and a permanent CO2 sequestration site. A key consideration in the development of such infrastructure is community acceptance, which may ultimately determine whether, where, and how anticipated CCS projects may be built. Although the general public is still largely unfamiliar with CCS, there are early indications that community acceptance may prove a significant challenge to the siting of CCS infrastructure in the United States..."

Options for Offsetting the Economic Impact on Low- and Moderate-Income Households of a Cap-and-Trade Program for Carbon Dioxide Emissions
".. the Congressional Budget Office(CBO) has prepared the attached analysis of options for offsetting the economic impact on low- and moderate-income households of a cap-and-trade program for CO2 emissions."