US greenhouse gas growth rate rose in 2004: EPA

By Timothy Gardner

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The growth rate of U.S. emissions of
gases blamed for global warming rose in 2004, as the country
burned more fossil fuel for transportation and electricity,
according to federal environment regulators.

The United States, the world’s leading emitter of
greenhouse gases, released about 7.075 billion metric tonnes of
carbon dioxide equivalent last year, according to a draft
report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The growth rate was stronger than in each of the previous
two years with emissions rising 0.6 percent in 2003 and 0.7
percent in 2002. In 2001, when the economy was sluggish,
emissions fell 1.6 percent, EPA said.

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, which include carbon
dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, have risen 15.8 percent
from 1990 to 2004, according to the EPA.

U.S. President George W. Bush says U.S. greenhouse gas
intensity, or the amount of greenhouse gas emission for every
dollar of economic output, is falling. He prefers voluntary
methods of cutting emissions.

The United Nations’ Kyoto Protocol on global warming signed
by 156 countries requires developed nations to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2 percent of their 1990 levels
from 2008 to 2012.

President Bush pulled out of the Kyoto pact in 2001, saying
it would harm the economy.

So far, adherence to the Kyoto goals has been patchy. The
U.N. climate office said earlier this month that Kyoto nations
were on track to cut emissions by 3.5 percent compared with
1990 levels by 2012 but that the goal of 5.2 percent could be
reached by introducing extra measures.

The EPA did not indicate how U.S. emissions would fare in
the future, but climate researchers say voluntary cuts won’t
trim overall greenhouse output in the United States.

“Voluntary programs that are aimed at reducing emissions
… are offset by the growth because there are no requirements
overall,” said Vicki Arroyo, director of policy at analysis at
the Pew Center on Global Climate Change in Virginia.

At a U.N. conference in December the United States agreed
to participate in talks about extending Kyoto Protocol beyond
its first phase, but only after the text was watered down to
say the discussions would not lead to mandatory emissions caps.

The EPA follows U.N. methods in assessing greenhouse gas
emissions and is the official U.S. tally of greenhouse
emissions. In December, the Department of Energy said U.S.
emissions of heat-trapping gases rose 2 percent last year.