Output of carbon
dioxide and other heat-trapping gasses were up 3.2 percent from 2009 as
the nation climbed slowly out of the deepest economic downturn since the
Great Depression, the E.P.A. said.
“The increase from 2009 to
2010 was primarily due to an increase in economic output resulting in an
increase in energy consumption across all sectors, and much warmer
summer conditions resulting in an increase in electricity demand for air
conditioning that was generated primarily by combusting coal and
natural gas,” the agency reported in its annual inventory of greenhouse gases.
The report, produced for domestic policymakers and for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, covers emissions of the six main greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.
The report, produced for domestic policymakers and for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, covers emissions of the six main greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.
It said that emissions of those gases dropped by
about 8 percent from 2007 to 2009 after 15 years of fairly steady
increases. Total United States emission rose 10.5 percent from 1990 to
2010.
President Obama has promised the United Nations that domestic greenhouse gas emissions will fall “in the range of” 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020
through a combination of government policy steps, energy innovations
and the deployment of low-carbon production techniques. Emissions in
2010 were 5 percent below those of 2005, indicating that the goal could
be met with aggressive efforts by government and industry.
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