US Climate Action Report to UN Projects 4% Growth in Total US GHG Emissions to 2020

From 2005 through 2020, total US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are projected to rise by 4% under a “with measures” scenario (but without a cap-and-trade program and other complementary policies), from 7,109 Tg CO₂ Eq. to 7,416 Tg CO₂ Eq., while the US GDP is projected to grow by 40%, according to the fifth National Communication on US climate change actions submitted by the US Department of State to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The report projects that transportation-related CO₂ emissions will drop 1.5% to 1,853 Tg CO₂ Eq. from 2005 to 2020. This calculation, as with the other energy-related sources of CO₂ emissions in the report, is based on updates of the US Energy Information Administration’s AEO 2009 report. The transportation calculation noes not include the implementation of the new national light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas standards (earlier post) or other coming regulatory measures.

<!––>The projections represent a “business-as-usual” scenario that incorporates major policies in place as of 31 March 2009, including the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) and ARRA, as well as a number of other federal and state measures. In this sense, the “business-as-usual” projections equal the “with measures” scenario called for under the UNFCCC Guidelines for Annex 1 Communications.

The submission of the document, also called the US Climate Action Report 2010, is a requirement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The US submits a National Communication to the UN every 3-5 years. The United States released previous Climate Action Reports in 1994, 1997, 2002, and 2006…(more)

Source:

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2010/06/car-20100603.html#more