Climate Change

Related Links

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory 

Report Archives

•

Greenhouse Gas Reporting

Program

•

Relationship between the Inventory 

and the Greenhouse Gas Reporting 

Program

•

Natural Gas Systems

On November 8, 2013 EPA

proposed an update to its 

methodology in the Inventory of 

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions 

and Sinks for hydraulically fractured 

gas well completions and

workovers, and is requesting 

stakeholder feedback by November 

22, 2013. More Information >> 

•

Overview of Updates to the Natural 

Gas Sector Emissions Calculations 

for the Inventory of U.S. 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and 

Sinks: 1990-2011 (PDF) ( 3 pp., 64 

KB)

•

On February 27, 2013 EPA held a

technical webinar on natural gas 

systems in the Greenhouse Gas 

Reporting Program (GHGRP) and 

the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse 

Gas Emissions and Sinks

(Inventory). View speaker 

presentations and learn more about 

the webinar.

•

Overview of Greenhouse Gases

Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

National Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data

EPA develops an annual report called the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse 

Gas Emissions and Sinks (Inventory). This report tracks total annual U.S. 

emissions and removals by source, economic sector, and greenhouse gas 

going back to 1990. EPA uses national energy data, data on national 

agricultural activities, and other national statistics to provide a

comprehensive accounting of total greenhouse gas emissions for all manmade sources in the United States. EPA also collects greenhouse gas 

emissions data from individual facilities and suppliers of certain fossil fuels 

and industrial gases through the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. The 

most recent Inventory report is available for download at the bottom of this 

page.

The national greenhouse gas inventory is submitted to the United Nations 

in accordance with the Framework Convention on Climate Change

. In preparing the annual emissions inventory report, EPA 

collaborates with hundreds of experts representing more than a dozen 

U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, industry associations, 

consultants and environmental organizations.

For an overview of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States based 

on information from the Inventory including graphs of U.S. emissions by 

gas and source, click on the links below:

INVENTORY OF U.S. 

GREENHOUSE GAS 

EMISSIONS AND 

SINKS: 1990-2012

(April 2014)

The Inventory of U.S. 

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and 

Sinks tracks the national trend in 

greenhouse gas emissions and 

removals back to 1990. The key 

findings of the 1990-2012 U.S.

Inventory include: 

In 2012, U.S. 

greenhouse gas 

emissions totaled

6,526 million metric 

tons CO2 Eq.

•

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report | Climate Change | US EPA Page 1 of 4

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/usinventoryreport.html 5/29/2014
On September 13-14, 2012, EPA 

held a stakeholder workshop on key 

aspects of the estimates of 

greenhouse gas emissions from the 

natural gas sector in the Inventory 

of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions 

and Sinks. View speaker 

presentations and learn more about 

the workshop.

U.S. emissions •

decreased by 3.4

percent from 2011 to 

2012. Recent trends 

can be attributed to 

multiple factors

including reduced 

emissions from 

electricity generation, 

improvements in fuel

efficiency in vehicles 

with reductions in miles 

traveled, and year-toyear changes in the 

prevailing weather. 

•

• Greenhouse gas emissions in 2012 were 10 percent below 2005 levels.

Read or download the entire Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2012 (PDF, 529 pp., 12.6 

MB). For faster access, individual report sections are posted below, for example the Executive Summary (PDF, 27 pp., 

1.10 MB).

Individual sections of the report are also available for download:

Upfront (PDF) (5 pp., 351 KB) - Includes title page, acknowledgments and preface.

Table of Contents (PDF) (17 pp., 531 KB) - Contains the main inventory document's table of contents as well as the list 

of tables, figures, and boxes.

Executive Summary (PDF) (27 pp., 1.10 MB) - Provides a broad overview of all U.S. greenhouse gas emission sources 

and sinks, introduces key concepts and discusses the primary drivers for changes in emissions. All material in the 

Executive Summary is drawn from the following chapters.

Introduction (PDF) (23 pp., 816 KB) - Includes background information on greenhouse gas emission inventories, an 

introduction to climate change, a discussion of methodological issues and plans for QA/QC and an uncertainty 

analysis.

Trends in Greenhouse Gas Emissions (PDF) (33 pp., 1.45 MB) - Provides an overview of emission trends and discusses 

the primary drivers for changes in emissions.

Energy (PDF) (82 pp., 2.21MB) - Discusses and quantifies energy related emissions of all greenhouse gases resulting 

from stationary and mobile source activities including fuel combustion and fugitive fuel emissions.

Industrial Processes (PDF) (103 pp., 1.93 MB) - Addresses emissions from industrial processes not directly related to 

energy activities.

Solvent and Other Product Use (PDF) (5 pp., 513 KB) - Addresses emissions resulting from the use of solvents and 

evaporative emissions of greenhouse gases arising from other types of product use.

Agriculture (PDF) (42 pp., 1.70 MB) - Addresses anthropogenic emissions from agricultural activities (not including fuel

combustion and sewage emissions, which are addressed in the Energy and Waste chapters).

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report | Climate Change | US EPA Page 2 of 4

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/usinventoryreport.html 5/29/2014
WCMS

Last updated on Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (PDF) (82 pp., 3.46 MB) http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/usinventoryre - Addresses emissions and removals from forest port.html

and land-use change activities, primarily carbon dioxide.

Waste (PDF) (32 pp., 1.01 MB) - Addresses emissions from waste management activities.

Other (PDF) (1 pp., 203 KB) - Addresses emissions from the "Other" IPCC sector.

Recalculations and Improvements (PDF) (6 pp., 509 KB) - Includes an overview of changes in this year's report, 

including historical data, methodology and other changes relative to the 1990-2011 report.

References (PDF) (63 pp., 899 KB) - Contains the list of references used in the main inventory document.

All Annexes (PDF) (453 pp., 14.2 MB) - Supplementary information, data tables, detailed emission calculations and 

methodological discussions.

Annex Introduction and TOC (PDF) (1 pp., 212 KB) - Contains the table of contents for the Annex.

Annex 1 (PDF) (25 pp., 1.04 MB) - Key Category Analysis.

Annex 2 (PDF) (98 pp., 2.05 MB) - Methodology and Data for Estimating CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuel Combustion.

Annex 3 (PDF) (260 pp., 6.71 MB) - Methodological Descriptions for Additional Source or Sink Categories.

Annex 4 (PDF) (10 pp., 392 KB) - IPCC Reference Approach for Estimating CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuel

Combustion.

Annex 5 (PDF) (2 pp., 225 KB) - Assessment of the Sources and Sinks of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Not Included.

Annex 6 (PDF) (24 pp., 667 KB) - Additional Information.

Annex 7 (PDF) (29 pp., 664 KB) - Uncertainty.

Annex 8 (PDF) (4 pp., 351 KB) - QA/QC Procedures.

CRF Tables (Zip) (8.70 MB) - Common reporting format (CRF) tables, which present standardized summary information 

consistent with United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) inventory reporting

requirements.

CSV Inventory Report Tables (Zip) (244 KB) - Tables from the 1990-2012 Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report, in comma 

separated values (CSV) format. 

CSV Inventory Annex Tables (Zip) (318 KB) - Tables from the 1990-2012 Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report Annex, in 

comma separated values (CSV) format.

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report | Climate Change | US EPA Page 3 of 4

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/usinventoryreport.html 5/29/2014
U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report | Climate Change | US EPA Page 4 of 4

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/usinventoryreport.html 5/29/2014