Что такое ghg emissions
greenhouse gas emissions
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Greenhouse gas emissions by the United States — Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide versus Time … Wikipedia
Greenhouse gas emissions by Kentucky — The report “Kentucky Greenhouse Gas Inventory” provides a detailed inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and sinks for Kentucky in 1990. Emissions were estimated using methods from EPA’s 1995 guidance document State Workbook: Methodologies for… … Wikipedia
United States federal register of greenhouse gas emissions — United States federal register of greenhouse gas emissionsEven though the United States has not adopted the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol, it has still made significant progress in establishing the ground work to one day having a viable… … Wikipedia
Comparisons of life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions — attempt to calculate the emissions of greenhouse gases or solely carbon dioxide over the full life of a power source, from groundbreaking to fuel sources to waste management back to greenfield status. Contents 1 2008 Sovacool survey 2 2007 Oxford … Wikipedia
Post–Kyoto Protocol negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions — Post Kyoto negotiations refers to high level talks attempting to address global warming by limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Generally part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), these talks concern the period… … Wikipedia
Post-Kyoto Protocol negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions — The Kyoto Protocol is an extension of the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the world s first treaty to attempt to address global warming by limiting greenhouse gas emissions. The Protocol deals in detail with its first… … Wikipedia
List of countries by greenhouse gas emissions per capita — This is a list of countries ranked by greenhouse gas emissions per capita in 2000. It is based on data for carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, perfluorocarbon, hydrofluorocarbon and sulfur hexafluoride emissions compiled by the World… … Wikipedia
Greenhouse gas inventory — Greenhouse gas inventories are a type of emission inventory that are developed for a variety of reasons. Scientists use inventories of natural and anthropogenic (human caused) emissions as tools when developing atmospheric models. Policy makers… … Wikipedia
greenhouse gas — UK US noun [C or U] ENVIRONMENT ► one of several gases, especially carbon dioxide, that prevent heat from the earth escaping into space, causing the greenhouse effect: »We need a global system for limiting greenhouse gas emissions. »Radical steps … Financial and business terms
Greenhouse gas — Simple diagram of greenhouse effect. A greenhouse gas (sometimes abbreviated GHG) is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect.[1] … Wikipedia
greenhouse gas — noun a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation • Syn: ↑greenhouse emission • Hypernyms: ↑gas • Hyponyms: ↑chlorofluorocarbon, ↑CFC, ↑carbon dioxide, ↑ … Useful english dictionary
Overview of Greenhouse Gases
On this page:
Total U.S. Emissions in 2019 = 6,558 Million Metric Tons of CO2 equivalent (excludes land sector). Percentages may not add up to 100% due to independent rounding.
Larger image to save or print Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases. This section provides information on emissions and removals of the main greenhouse gases to and from the atmosphere. For more information on the other climate forcers, such as black carbon, please visit the Climate Change Indicators: Climate Forcing page.
6,457 million metric tons of CO2: What does that mean?
An explanation of units:
A million metric tons is equal to about 2.2 billion pounds, or 1 trillion grams. For comparison, a small car is likely to weigh a little more than 1 metric ton. Thus, a million metric tons is roughly the same mass as 1 million small cars!
The U.S. Inventory uses metric units for consistency and comparability with other countries. For reference, a metric ton is a little bit larger (about 10%) than a U.S. «short» ton.
GHG emissions are often measured in carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent. To convert emissions of a gas into CO2 equivalent, its emissions are multiplied by the gas’s Global Warming Potential (GWP). The GWP takes into account the fact that many gases are more effective at warming Earth than CO2, per unit mass.
Each gas’s effect on climate change depends on three main factors:
How much is in the atmosphere?
Concentration, or abundance, is the amount of a particular gas in the air. Larger emissions of greenhouse gases lead to higher concentrations in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gas concentrations are measured in parts per million, parts per billion, and even parts per trillion. One part per million is equivalent to one drop of water diluted into about 13 gallons of liquid (roughly the fuel tank of a compact car). To learn more about the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, visit the Climate Change Indicators: Atmospheric Concentrations of Greenhouse Gases page.
How long do they stay in the atmosphere?
Each of these gases can remain in the atmosphere for different amounts of time, ranging from a few years to thousands of years. All of these gases remain in the atmosphere long enough to become well mixed, meaning that the amount that is measured in the atmosphere is roughly the same all over the world, regardless of the source of the emissions.
How strongly do they impact the atmosphere?
Some gases are more effective than others at making the planet warmer and «thickening the Earth’s blanket.»
For each greenhouse gas, a Global Warming Potential (GWP) has been calculated to reflect how long it remains in the atmosphere, on average, and how strongly it absorbs energy. Gases with a higher GWP absorb more energy, per pound, than gases with a lower GWP, and thus contribute more to warming Earth.
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Chemical Formula: CO2
Lifetime in Atmosphere: See below 1
Global Warming Potential (100-year): 1
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. In 2019, CO2 accounted for about 80 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Carbon dioxide is naturally present in the atmosphere as part of the Earth’s carbon cycle (the natural circulation of carbon among the atmosphere, oceans, soil, plants, and animals). Human activities are altering the carbon cycle–both by adding more CO2 to the atmosphere, and by influencing the ability of natural sinks, like forests and soils, to remove and store CO2 from the atmosphere. While CO2 emissions come from a variety of natural sources, human-related emissions are responsible for the increase that has occurred in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution. 2
Carbon dioxide is constantly being exchanged among the atmosphere, ocean, and land surface as it is both produced and absorbed by many microorganisms, plants, and animals. However, emissions and removal of CO2 by these natural processes tend to balance, absent anthropogenic impacts. Since the Industrial Revolution began around 1750, human activities have contributed substantially to climate change by adding CO2 and other heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere.
In the United States, since 1990, the management of forests and other land (e.g., cropland, grasslands, etc.) has acted as a net sink of CO2, which means that more CO2 is removed from the atmosphere, and stored in plants and trees, than is emitted. This carbon sink offset is about 12 percent of total emissions in 2019 and is discussed in more detail in the Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry section.
To find out more about the role of CO2 in warming the atmosphere and its sources, visit the Climate Change Indicators page.
Emissions and Trends
Carbon dioxide emissions in the United States increased by about 3 percent between 1990 and 2019. Since the combustion of fossil fuel is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, changes in emissions from fossil fuel combustion have historically been the dominant factor affecting total U.S. emission trends. Changes in CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion are influenced by many long-term and short-term factors, including population growth, economic growth, changing energy prices, new technologies, changing behavior, and seasonal temperatures. Between 1990 and 2019, the increase in CO2 emissions corresponded with increased energy use by an expanding economy and population, including overall growth in emissions from increased demand for travel.
Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions
The most effective way to reduce CO2 emissions is to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Many strategies for reducing CO2 emissions from energy are cross-cutting and apply to homes, businesses, industry, and transportation.
EPA is taking common sense regulatory actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Improving the insulation of buildings, traveling in more fuel-efficient vehicles, and using more efficient electrical appliances are all ways to reduce energy use, and thus CO2 emissions.
Reducing personal energy use by turning off lights and electronics when not in use reduces electricity demand. Reducing distance traveled in vehicles reduces petroleum consumption. Both are ways to reduce energy CO2 emissions through conservation.
Learn more about What You Can Do at Home, at School, in the Office, and on the Road to save energy and reduce your carbon footprint.
Producing more energy from renewable sources and using fuels with lower carbon contents are ways to reduce carbon emissions.
Carbon dioxide capture and sequestration is a set of technologies that can potentially greatly reduce CO2 emissions from new and existing coal- and gas-fired power plants, industrial processes, and other stationary sources of CO2. For example, capturing CO2 from the stacks of a coal-fired power plant before it enters the atmosphere, transporting the CO2 via pipeline, and injecting the CO2 deep underground at a carefully selected and suitable subsurface geologic formation, such as a nearby abandoned oil field, where it is securely stored.
1 Atmospheric CO2 is part of the global carbon cycle, and therefore its fate is a complex function of geochemical and biological processes. Some of the excess carbon dioxide will be absorbed quickly (for example, by the ocean surface), but some will remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years, due in part to the very slow process by which carbon is transferred to ocean sediments.
2 IPCC (2013). Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis.Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [Stocker, T. F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S. K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P. M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1585 pp.
Methane Emissions
Chemical Formula: CH4
Lifetime in Atmosphere: 12 years
Global Warming Potential (100-year): 25 1
In 2019, methane (CH4) accounted for about 10 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Human activities emitting methane include leaks from natural gas systems and the raising of livestock. Methane is also emitted by natural sources such as natural wetlands. In addition, natural processes in soil and chemical reactions in the atmosphere help remove CH4 from the atmosphere. Methane’s lifetime in the atmosphere is much shorter than carbon dioxide (CO2), but CH4 is more efficient at trapping radiation than CO2. Pound for pound, the comparative impact of CH4 is 25 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year period. 1
Globally, 50-65 percent of total CH4 emissions come from human activities. 2, 3 Methane is emitted from energy, industry, agriculture, land use, and waste management activities, described below.
Methane is also emitted from a number of natural sources. Natural wetlands are the largest source, emitting CH4 from bacteria that decompose organic materials in the absence of oxygen. Smaller sources include termites, oceans, sediments, volcanoes, and wildfires.
To find out more about the role of CH4 in warming the atmosphere and its sources, visit the Climate Change Indicators page.
Emissions and Trends
Methane emissions in the United States decreased by 15 percent between 1990 and 2019. During this time period, emissions increased from sources associated with agricultural activities, while emissions decreased from sources associated with landfills, coal mining, and from natural gas and petroleum systems.
Note: All emission estimates from the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2019 . These estimates use a global warming potential for methane of 25, based on reporting requirements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Reducing Methane Emissions
There are a number of ways to reduce CH4 emissions. Some examples are discussed below. EPA has a series of voluntary programs for reducing CH4 emissions, in addition to regulatory initiatives. EPA also supports the Global Methane Initiative, an international partnership encouraging global methane reduction strategies.
