Facts and figures about the United States and climate change.
 | Facts from the Allianz/WWF Climate ScorecardGreenhouse gas emissions in the United States by sector and energy sources (Graphic: Allianz/WWF) |
US CARBON FOOTPRINT AT A GLANCE
Country: United States of America
Population: 303 million people
Estimated annual CO2 emissions: around 5.97 billion tons, 24 tons per capita (2008, second largest worldwide)
10 FACTS ABOUT THE UNITED STATES AND CLIMATE CHANGE
01.The average American uses seven times more energy and twelve times as much gasoline as the average Chinese.
02. The United States consumes almost 9 million barrels of gasoline daily – 44 percent of total global daily gasoline consumption.
03. U.S. greenhouse gas emissions were 17 percent higher in 2007 than in 1990. This reflects the country’s economic growth.
04. Twenty-one percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation.
05. Hurricanes during 2004-05 caused 10 billion dollars in insured losses, including 116 oil platforms destroyed and 56 severely damaged in the Gulf Coast. Offshore oil producers saw their insurance costs increase significantly.
06. Weather-related catastrophe losses have increased from about 1 billion dollars a year in the 1970s to an average of 17 billion dollars a year over the past decade. In 2005, the year of Hurricane Katrina, that figure reached 71 billion dollars. This increase can be attributed in part to changes in the environment.
07. According to the Pew Center on Climate Change, if the United States increased the percentage of power supplied by renewable sources by less than one percent (from 2.5 to 3.4 percent) by 2010, renewable energy producers would see up to 10 billion dollars in new revenues.
08. The Max Planck Institute estimates that 3-month-long dry spells could become about 50 percent more frequent in central North America as a result of a 2-degree Celsius global warming.
09. An April 2007 study written by 11 retired U.S. admirals and generals urged the government to deal with climate change as a threat to national security. The study said global warming could cause massive migrations, international tensions and conflicts over resources.
10. The most ambitious U.S. Senate climate bill would – if passed – introduce a flat tax on carbon emissions and a mandatory 80-percent reduction of carbon emissions of 1990 levels by 2050. Such a measure is unlikely, although legislation that would cap carbon emissions at 1990 levels is probable.
Sources: World Resources Institute, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Newsweek, Ceres, Alliance to Save Energy, New York Review of Books, Environmental Protection Agency, Energy Information Administration
editor: Valdis Wish
latest update: April 21, 2009
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