US carbon-dioxide emissions dropped 7 percent in 2009
May 6th, 2010 - 5:43 am ICT by IANS
Washington, May 6 (DPA) US emissions of carbon dioxide tumbled seven percent in 2009, government figures have showed, marking the largest one-year decline in the heat-trapping gas blamed for global warming since records began in 1949.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) Wednesday attributed the sharp fall to a drop in energy use as the United States battled through its worst recession in decades, coupled with a smaller 2.3-percent drop in the “carbon intensity” of energy sources.
US carbon pollution had fallen annually on average just 0.9 percent over the last decade, amid improved energy efficiency and a slow transition to cleaner energy sources. Carbon-dioxide emissions rose 1.4 percent per year during the 1990s, according to the EIA.
The US and China together emit about 40 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases, in which carbon dioxide is the chief component.
President Barack Obama has pledged to reduce US emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, but legislation toward that goal has stalled in the Senate.
- Saline aquifers can store century's worth of CO2 emissions - Mar 22, 2012
- Thawing arctic soil may release greenhouse gases - Nov 07, 2011
- Global CO2 emissions reach record high in 2010: IEA - May 31, 2011
- Democrats introduce climate-change bill in US Senate - Oct 01, 2009
- Texas tops US greenhouse gas emissions list - Jan 12, 2012
- Eating wisely can lower carbon footprint: Study (Lead) - May 14, 2012
- Eating wisely can lower carbon footprint: Study - May 14, 2012
- 'India's per capita carbon emissions to rise threefold by 2030' - Feb 25, 2010
- Mexico City closes world's largest trash dump - Dec 20, 2011
- Durban climate talks: What it means for India? - Dec 15, 2011
- Delhi Metro gets UN certificate for reducing pollution - Sep 25, 2011
- Mexican scientists develop eco-friendly cement - Mar 05, 2011
- Low-carbon technology can't fix global warming - Feb 16, 2012
- Bizarre feed supplement could cut greenhouse emissions by gassy cows - Sep 08, 2010
- Global carbon emissions to increase 40 percent by 2030 - May 28, 2009
Tags: 1990s, barack obama, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon intensity, carbon pollution, chief component, decades, decline, eia, energy efficiency, energy information administration, energy sources, energy use, global warming, government figures, greenhouse gases, last decade, recession, senate, slow transition