US carbon dioxide emissions drop

US government reports energy-related CO2 emissions declined by 2.8% in 2008

Associated Press
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 20 May 2009 21.46 BST

The US government is reporting that energy-related carbon dioxide emissions declined in America by 2.8% last year, the largest drop since it began keeping records of greenhouse gas pollution.
The US energy information administration attributed the decline to a 2.2% drop in energy demand in 2008. That was largely because of high gasoline and diesel prices last summer, and a sharp economic decline in the last half of the year.
The agency said about 5.8bn metric tonnes of carbon dioxide were released into the atmosphere in 2008 from US energy-related activities, or about 165mn metric tonnes fewer than in 2007.
Carbon dioxide pollution which accounts for 80% of greenhouse gases has grown by nearly 16% since 1990.