Carbon dioxide emissions in the United States 1975-2020

Energy consumption in the United States produced 4.58 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (GtCO2) emissions in 2020. This was a reduction of roughly 11 percent compared to the previous year. Although emissions from energy consumption have been in decline for a number of years, the dramatic decline in 2020 was caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, which heavily disrupted industry and travel.

Sources of emissions in the U.S.

The main source of CO2 emissions in the U.S. is the transportation sector, and has been since 2016. For many years the power sector was the country’s biggest contributor to CO2 emissions, but transitions towards cleaner energy sources and a shift away from coal-fired power generation – the most carbon intensive fossil fuel – have seen emissions from this sector drop. In the meantime, transportation emissions have continued to rise, except for an unprecedented decline in 2020.

U.S. transportation emissions

The U.S. is the biggest contributor to global transportation emissions, producing roughly twice the emissions as the transportation sector in China. Transportation-related CO2 emissions in the U.S. are highest in both Texas and California.