Of the roughly 66,000 lbs CO 2e emitted over the lifetime of an internal combustion engine car (assuming 93,000 miles driven), 84% come from the use phase.Cars and light trucks emitted 0.9 billion metric tons of CO 2e or 16% of the total U.S.14 Annual per capita miles driven increased 9% since 1995 to 9,937 miles in 2019. fuel economy (mpg) declined by 12% from 1988-2004, then improved by 32% from 2004-2020, reaching an average of 25.4 mpg in 2020. Personal Transportation ( See Personal Transportation Factsheet) Switching to a cold water wash once per week can reduce household GHG emissions by over 70 lbs annually. Refrigerators are one of the largest users of household appliance energy in 2020, an average of 621 lbs CO 2e per household was due to refrigeration.Space heating and cooling are estimated to account for 43% of energy in U.S.Residential electricity use in 2020 emitted 561.1 mmt CO 2e, 9.4% of the U.S.Nuclear, solar, wind, and hydroelectric release no CO 2 when they produce electricity, but emissions are released during upstream production activities (e.g., solar cells, nuclear fuels, cement production). 8Coal releases 2.3 pounds, petroleum releases 2.1 pounds, and natural gas releases 0.9 pounds. For each kWh generated in the U.S., an average of 0.822 pounds of CO 2e is released at the power plant.

Household Emissions ( See Residential Buildings Factsheet)

Greenhouse Gases Contribution by food type in average diet 3 For example, beef's GHG emissions per kilogram are 7.2 times greater than those of chicken.

A vegetarian diet greatly reduces an individual’s carbon footprint, but switching to less carbon intensive meats can have a major impact as well.

household, eliminating the transport of food for one year could save the GHG equivalent of driving 1,000 miles, while shifting to a vegetarian meal one day a week could save the equivalent of driving 1,160 miles.

Ruminants such as cattle, sheep, and goats produced 175 million metric tons (mmt) CO 2e of enteric methane in the U.S.

Meat products have larger carbon footprints per calorie than grain or vegetable products because of the inefficient conversion of plant to animal energy and due to CH 4 released from manure management and enteric fermentation in ruminants.

Food production emissions consist mainly of CO 2, N 2O, and CH 4, which result primarily from agricultural practices.

2 Production accounts for 68% of food emissions, while transportation accounts for 5%.

Food accounts for 10-30% of a household’s carbon footprint, typically a higher portion in lower-income households.

household has a carbon footprint of 48 metric tons CO 2e/yr. See the Center for Sustainable Systems ' Greenhouse Gases Factsheet' for more information on GWP. A typical U.S. These differences are accounted for by the global warming potential (GWP) of each gas, resulting in a carbon footprint in units of mass of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO 2e).

Throughout a product’s lifetime, or lifecycle, different GHGs may be emitted, such as carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), and nitrous oxide (N 2O), each with a greater or lesser ability to trap heat in the atmosphere. “A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event or product.” 1 It is calculated by summing the emissions resulting from every stage of a product or service’s lifetime (material production, manufacturing, use, and end-of-life).

Carbon footprint quiz