Greenhouse Gas Emissions – 2009 Report

U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rose 1.4 percent in 2007, the EPA reported.

The bulk of the increase in 2007 was due to a rise in CO2 emissions from additional fuel and energy consumption, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said.

A cooler winter and warmer summer in 2007, compared to the previous year, resulted in higher demand for heating fuel and electricity, the report said.

Additionally, the demand for fossil fuels to generate electricity rose  significantly compensating for a  sharp drop of about 14.2  percent in hydropower generation due to low water levels.

In 2007 the US emitted the equivalent of  7,150 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in six main GHGs: carbon dioxide, hydrofluorocarbons, methane, nitrous oxide,  perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.

The EPA report components are available at: http://epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventoryreport.html

EU says its GHG fell because it was warmer

EU says its greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.2 percent in 2007 compared to the previous year because the winter was warmer.

“For the EU, there was a significant decline in the use of oil and gas, particularly in households [in 2007,]” said a report prepared for the EU Commission by the European Environment Agency.

While the energy prices rose steeply in 2007, the report cited a warmer winter as the main reason for a fall in demand for fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal).

Emission in the manufacturing sector fell, especially in  Britain, Italy and Spain, while the emissions for the power generators consuming fossil fuels rose, namely in  Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Spain.

The 27-nation block  generated 5.56 billion tons carbon dioxide equivalent gases (CO2e) in 2007, a fall of  about 59 million tons, or 1.2 percent, compared to 2006 to emissions.   Germany and Britain, the top two EU emitters, saw a fall of 2.4 and 1.7 percent respectively, the report said.

According to the report, Latvia’s emissions in 2007 fell 54.7 percent below the 1990 level, while Spain saw a rise of 53.5 percent above their 1990 emission level.

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