Executive Summary

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
greenhouse gas emissions were contributed by, in order of magnitude, the agriculture, commercial, and residential
sectors, plus emissions from U.S. Territories. Activities related to agriculture accounted for 9 percent of U.S.
emissions; unlike other economic sectors, agricultural sector emissions were dominated by N 2O emissions from
agricultural soil management and CH 4 emissions from enteric fermentation. The commercial and residential sectors
accounted for 6 percent and 6 percent of emissions, respectively, and U.S. Territories accounted for 1 percent of
emissions; emissions from these sectors primarily consisted of CO 2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion. CO 2 was
also emitted and sequestered by a variety of activities related to forest management practices, tree planting in urban
areas, the management of agricultural soils, landfilling of yard trimmings, and changes in C stocks in coastal
wetlands.
Electricity is ultimately consumed in the economic sectors described above. Table ES-7 presents greenhouse gas
emissions from economic sectors with emissions related to electricity generation distributed into end-use categories
(i.e., emissions from electricity generation are allocated to the economic sectors in which the electricity is
consumed). To distribute electricity emissions among end-use sectors, emissions from the source categories assigned
to electricity generation were allocated to the residential, commercial, industry, transportation, and agriculture
economic sectors according to retail sales of electricity. 26 These source categories include CO 2 from fossil fuel
combustion and the use of limestone and dolomite for flue gas desulfurization, CO 2 and N 2O from incineration of
waste, CH 4 and N 2O from stationary sources, and SF 6 from electrical transmission and distribution systems.
When emissions from electricity are distributed among these sectors, industrial activities and transportation account
for the largest shares of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (30 percent and 27 percent, respectively) in 2015. The
residential and commercial sectors contributed the next largest shares of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in
2015. Emissions from these sectors increase substantially when emissions from electricity are included, due to their
relatively large share of electricity consumption (e.g., lighting, appliances). In all sectors except agriculture, CO 2
accounts for more than 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels.
Figure ES-14 shows the trend in these emissions by sector from 1990 to 2015.
Table ES-7: U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Economic Sector with Electricity-Related
Emissions Distributed (MMT CO2 Eq.)
Implied Sectors 1990 2005 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Industry 2,297.1 2,180.3 1,973.5 1,926.0 1,976.9 1,986.7 1,956.2
Transportation 1,554.4 2,005.9 1,804.3 1,784.7 1,794.3 1,807.5 1,807.5
Commercial 968.4 1,217.6 1,158.1 1,100.6 1,128.5 1,142.7 1,094.0
Residential 951.5 1,241.3 1,161.5 1,057.2 1,122.0 1,143.7 1,071.5
Agriculture 561.5 612.4 633.1 620.6 609.9 610.8 612.0
U.S. Territories 33.7 58.2 45.4 47.6 47.5 44.9 44.9
Total Emissions 6,366.7 7,315.6 6,776.0 6,536.8 6,678.9 6,736.3 6,586.2
LULUCF Sector Net Total a,b (449.1) (315.3) (375.1) (387.7) (370.4) (368.8) (366.4)
Net Emissions (Sources and Sinks) 5,917.6 7,000.3 6,400.9 6,149.1 6,308.5 6,367.5 6,219.8
a
The LULUCF Sector Total is the net sum of all emissions (i.e., sources) of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere plus removals of
CO2 (i.e., sinks or negative emissions) from the atmosphere.
b
Quality control uncovered errors in the estimate and uncertainty of soil C stock changes for 2013, 2014, 2015, which will be
updated following public review. Corrected estimates are provided in footnotes of the emission summary tables for Cropland
Remaining Cropland, Land Converted to Cropland, Grassland Remaining Grassland, and Land Converted to Grassland sections
in the LULUCF chapter of this report.
Notes: Emissions from electricity generation are allocated based on aggregate electricity consumption in each end-use sector.
Totals may not sum due to independent rounding. Parentheses indicate negative values or sequestration.
27
26 Emissions were not distributed to U.S. Territories, since the electricity generation sector only includes emissions related to the
generation of electricity in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
24 DRAFT Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2015