In 1982, US total carbon emissions fell 5.3 percent. After nearly 30 years in 2008, the country saw its biggest CO2 emissions reduction at 2.8 percent. The reasons were mostly tied to the financial meltdown: economic slump, reduction in energy use, and high fuel prices.

Another interesting revelation is that while GDP went up 1.1 percent in 2008, the demand for energy declined 2.2 percent. Economists analyze this to mean that ‘the amount of energy used to produce one unit of GDP dropped 3.3’ in 2008. Further, ‘the decline in carbon dioxide intensity — the amount of CO2 emitted per unit of GDP — was even more dramatic at 3.8 percent. Since 1990, U.S. carbon dioxide intensity has plummeted 29.3 percent.’

Green energy resource continued to show what good it can do. Wind generation caused power generation emissions to decline by 1 percent. Consequently, coal-based emissions fell 1.1 percent.

CO2 emissions also generally declined across these end-user sectors: transportation, residential, and industrial. Transportation emissions fell 5.2 percent in 2008 when compared to 2007. This sector accounts for one-third of all energy-related emissions in the entire United States. Industrial sector emissions reduced by 3.2 percent, while residential sector declined by 1.1 percent.

Image

Via ClimateBiz