Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Analysis for the United States: 1990-2024

Abstract

The Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Analysis for the United States (GHGIA) presents comprehensive, economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) sources and sinks estimates covering the United States. The data are presented for each year from 1990 through 2024, the latter being the most recent year when comprehensive data are available for the entire economy. Along with detailed results for single years and analyses of trends over time, this report presents methodological descriptions, data inputs, a characterization of uncertainties, recalculations, and improvements. The report adheres to good practice and methodological guidance as defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and to international standards for transparency, accuracy, completeness, comparability, and consistency. In 2024, total gross emissions were 6,205.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMT CO2 Eq.). Gross emissions in 2024 decreased by 5.1 percent relative to 1990 and were 0.04 percent higher than gross emissions in 2023. The decreasing trend from around 2005 is associated primarily with a decrease in CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion. Total net U.S. GHG emissions in 2024, including emissions and sinks from the land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector, were 5,298.8 MMT CO2 Eq. This net emissions estimate is a 3.8 percent decrease from 1990 and a 0.2 percent annual increase from 2023. Sequestration of CO2 in the LULUCF sector offset the equivalent of 14.6 percent of gross emissions in 2024 (906.5 MMT CO2 Eq.).This report has been developed in a manner that supports comparability and continuity with past official U.S. inventories prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The GHGIA is not an official national inventory on behalf of the United States, nor is it an official submission in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).