U.S. generated greenhouse gas emissions dropped 1.5 percent in 2006, only the third annual decline since 1990.

Carbon dioxide emissions, which had risen at an average annual rate of 1.2 percent from 1990 to 2005, decreased 1.8 percent in 2006, according to the Energy Information Administration Nov. 28 report, "Emissions of Greenhouse Gases."

Greenhouse gas intensity, or the amount of emissions per Gross Domestic Product, dropped 4.2 percent. That figure has declined an average of 2.0 percent since 1990.

The EIA, which is the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, attributes the decrease in carbon dioxide emissions to a 0.5 percent decline in energy demand and a reduction in the carbon intensity of electricity production. Favorable weather and higher energy prices led to the energy demand decline, according to the EIA.

The full report is available at www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/index.html .

 

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