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Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP)

GHGRP 2018: Emissions Trends

 

View this information in FLIGHT.

1 GHG data for the Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems source category is not directly comparable between 2011-2015 and 2016 onward. Facilities in the Onshore Oil & Gas gathering & Boosting and Onshore Gas Transmission Pipelines industry segments began reporting in 2016.
2 Non-fluorinated Chemicals and Fluorinated Chemicals are components of “Chemicals” in FLIGHT.
3 Other Combustion, Underground Coal Mines, Electronics Manufacturing and Electrical Equipment Production & Use comprise “Other” in FLIGHT.

National level trends in greenhouse gas emissions are available through the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2017. The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is different from the U.S. GHG Inventory in that it collects information from the largest stationary sources in the U.S. and provides nearly complete emissions coverage for many of the largest emitting industries. Trends in emissions reported for individual industries are discussed in the industry-specific reports.

Total U.S. emissions decreased by 0.5 percent from 2016 to 2017, based on the U.S. GHG Inventory. For sources reporting to the GHGRP, excluding emissions from the oil and gas sector (which reported new source in 2016), emissions decreased by 2.7 percent from 2016 to 2017. 

The U.S. GHG Inventory is not yet available for 2018. For sources reporting to the GHGRP, emissions increased by 2.2 percent from 2017 to 2018. Over the past eight reporting years (2011-2018), GHGRP reported direct emissions from sectors other than oil and gas (also excluding suppliers) declined by 13.7 percent. This decline is primarily caused by a 18.3 percent decline in reported power plant emissions since 2011.

Table 1: Emissions Trends for U.S. GHG Inventory and GHGRP (2011-2018)
  2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
U.S. GHG Inventory
Total emissions (million metric tons CO2e) 6,787.4 6,546.0 6,710.2 6,760.0 6,623.8 6,492.3 6,456.7 Not available
Percent change in emissions from previous year -3.6% 2.5% 0.7% -2.0% -2.0% -0.5% Not available
GHGRP  
Number of direct-emitting facilities 7,645 7,896 7,982 8,205 8,043 7,672 7,572 7,655
Direct emissions (million metric tons CO2e) 3,318.4 3,169.3 3,189.5 3,203.5 3,056.1 2,989.81 2,921.91 2,987.31
Percent change in emissions from previous year -4.5% 0.6% 0.4% -4.6% -2.2% -2.3% 2.2%

1 GHG data for the Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems source category is not directly comparable between 2011-2015 and 2016 onward. Facilities in the Onshore Oil & Gas gathering & Boosting and Onshore Gas Transmission Pipelines industry segments began reporting in 2016.

Table 2: Emission Trends by Sector (2011-2018)
Sector 2011 Emissions (MMT CO2e) 2012 Emissions (MMT CO2e) 2013 Emissions (MMT CO2e) 2014 Emissions (MMT CO2e) 2015 Emissions (MMT CO2e) 2016 Emissions (MMT CO2e) 2017 Emissions (MMT CO2e) 2018 Emissions (MMT CO2e)
Power Plants 2,221.7 2,089.5 2,105.7 2,101.7 1,972.5 1,876.7 1,799.4 1,814.6
Oil & Gas 222.3 225.7 228.0 235.3 235.7 278.81 285.11 315.91
Chemicals 180.4 173.0 174.6 177.2 177.6 177.4 184.4 191.3
   Fluorinated Chemicals 17.3 14.4 13.4 11.7 10.3 7.5 9.9 8.1
   Non-fluorinated Chemicals 163.1 158.6 161.2 165.4 167.3 169.9 174.5 183.2
Refineries 178.2 172.6 174.3 175.3 175.3 179.4 177.6 180.6
Waste 114.9 115.0 111.3 111.9 110.4 107.7 105.7 108.9
Metals 112.0 106.8 106.9 104.5 90.9 87.1 89.5 94.1
Minerals 103.2 107.8 111.5 117.0 115.0 110.7 114.3 116.4
Pulp & Paper 44.2 42.8 39.4 39.3 38.4 37.7 35.5 35.7
Other 141.6 136.0 137.8 141.5 140.4 134.2 130.3 130.0
   Underground Coal Mines 40.9 38.8 41.0 41.2 43.9 39.2 37.3 35.0
   Electrical Equipment Production & Use 4.3 3.4 3.5 3.4 2.6 3.1 2.7 2.6
   Electronics Manufacturing 7.0 6.4 5.2 6.2 6.3 6.2 6.1 6.3
   Other Combustion 89.5 87.4 88.1 90.6 87.5 85.7 84.2 86.1

1 GHG data for the Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems source category is not directly comparable between 2011-2015 and 2016 onward. Facilities in the Onshore Oil & Gas gathering & Boosting and Onshore Gas Transmission Pipelines industry segments began reporting in 2016.

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