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This page allows you to look at a number of key indicators, a brief overview of CO2 emissions and power generation statistics for a given country.

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CO2Scorecard database has been updated as of 15 February, 2011 Select Country:

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United States

Country Scorecard

[2009 Grades]

CO₂ Trend:	A
CO₂ Intensity:	C
CO₂ Footprint:	D-

Grade Explanation

TREND: In 2009 the annual CO2 footprint of United States reduced by -7.00% and at the same time it also improved the CO2 intensity of its economy by -4.49%.

LEVEL: It has moderately high CO2 intensity and its annual CO2 footprint is among the top 10 globally.

[2008 Grades]

CO₂ Trend:	A
CO₂ Intensity:	C
CO₂ Footprint:	D-

[Data Source: EIA-US] View grading methodology

Grade Explanation

TREND: In 2008 the annual CO2 footprint of United States reduced by -2.84% and at the same time it also improved the CO2 intensity of its economy by -3.91%.

LEVEL: It has moderately high CO2 intensity and its annual CO2 footprint is among the top 10 globally.

Key Trends and Summary

(click on micro trend charts for more detailed analysis)

CO2 EMISSIONS: United States released 5,425 million metric tons of CO2 in the year 2009, and is ranked #2 out of 217 countries. With per capita CO2 emissions of 17.67 metric tons per year, it is in the highest quartile globally. Its CO2 intensity (kg per unit GDP 2005 PPP $) is 0.42, which is higher than the average of 0.32 for its income group--the High income: OECD countries. Regarding the trend, the total CO2 emissions have decreased by -7.00% during 2008-09. Over the past five years, the total CO2 emissions has improved by -9.11%, and over the last decade the total CO2 emissions has fallen by -4.45%.

POWER GENERATION: The total net generation for United States in 2009 was 3,953 million Mwh. Power supply from conventional thermal sources accounted for 69.16% of the total. In comparison, renewable sources including hydroelectricity contributed 10.73% of the total. The share of the non-hydro renewable component in the total generation was 3.85%. It is estimated that the coal fired power plants, the most CO2 intensive source of power accounted for around 49.01% of the total generation (3rd quartile globally-based on 2007 data). Finally, nuclear generation contributed 20.21% of the total supply nationally (798.75 million Mwh).

[Data Source: EIA-US and World Bank-WDI]

CO₂ and Energy Intensity Ratios

1	CO2 per capita (metric tons) [EIA 2009]	17.67	Highest Quartile
2	CO2 per unit GDP (kg per 2005 PPP $ of GDP) [EIA 2009]	.42	3rd Quartile
3	CO2 per unit energy consumed (kg per mill BTU) [EIA 2008]	58.61	2nd Quartile
4	Primary Energy Consumption per Capita (Million Btu per Person) [EIA 2008]	327	Highest Quartile
5	Primary Energy Consumption per unit GDP (Btu per 2005 PPP $) [EIA 2008]	7,523.72	3rd Quartile

CO₂ Emissions by Fuel Type and Energy Mix

Country Stats Table

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1	CO2 Emissions-Totals
	Key Indicators	Source	Year	Value	1 Yr Ch	5 Yr Ch	10 Yr Ch	Ch 1990
1.1.a	CO2 emissions fossil fuels (mill metric tons)	BP	2009	5,942	-6.71%	-8.73%	-4.81%	8.56%
1.1.b	CO2 emissions fossil fuels (mill metric tons)	CDIAC	2009	5,240	-6.84%	-8.85%	-4.95%	8.50%
1.1.c	CO2 emissions fossil fuels (mill metric tons)	EDGAR/PBL	2009	5,308	-7.07%	-7.33%	-3.36%	10.15%
1.1.d	CO2 emissions fossil fuels (mill metric tons)	EIA	2009	5,425	-7.00%	-9.11%	-4.45%	7.61%
1.1.e	CO2 emissions fossil fuels (mill metric tons)	IEA	2008	5,596	-2.89%	-1.49%	2.13%	14.94%
1.1.f	CO2 emissions fossil fuels (mill metric tons)	UNFCCC	2008	5,999	-2.97%	-1.36%	2.80%	14.83%
1.1.g	CO2 emissions fossil fuels (mill metric tons)	WDI-2010	2007	5,832	1.37%	2.50%	6.65%	19.98%
2	CO2 Intensities and Ratios
	Key Indicators	Source	Year	Value	1 Yr Ch	5 Yr Ch	10 Yr Ch	Ch 1990
2.1.a	CO2 per capita (metric tons)	CDIAC	2007	19.07	0.39%	-2.26%	-3.53%	-0.57%
2.1.b	CO2 per capita (metric tons)	EIA	2009	17.67	-7.80%	-13.25%	-13.15%	-12.51%
2.1.c	CO2 per capita (metric tons)	IEA	2008	18.38	-3.78%	-5.95%	-7.39%	-5.57%
2.1.d	CO2 per capita (metric tons)	WDI-2010	2007	19.34	0.37%	-2.18%	-3.58%	-0.69%
2.2	CO2 per unit GDP (kg per 2000 US$ of GDP)	WDI-2010	2007	0.51	-0.75%	-10.75%	-19.68%	-26.28%
2.3	CO2 per unit GDP (kg per 2005 US$ of GDP)	EIA	2009	0.42	-4.49%	-13.47%	-20.03%	-32.88%
2.4.a	CO2 per unit GDP (kg per 2005 PPP $ of GDP)	EIA	2009	0.42	-4.49%	-13.47%	-20.03%	-32.88%
2.4.b	CO2 per unit GDP (kg per 2005 PPP $ of GDP)	WDI-2010	2007	0.44	-0.75%	-10.75%	-19.68%	-26.28%
2.5	CO2 per unit energy consumed (kg per mill BTU)	EIA	2008	58.61	-0.98%	-1.52%	-0.44%	-1.28%
2.6	CO2 intensity (kg per kg of oil equivalent energy use)	WDI-2010	2007	2.49	-0.23%	-0.59%	-2.25%	-1.90%
2.7	CO2 intensity (kg per kg of oil equivalent TPES)	IEA	2008	2.45	-0.65%	-2.46%	-3.73%	-3.62%
2.8	CO2 per unit electricity (Kg /MWh)	IEA	2008	535.03	-2.58%	-6.27%	-11.37%
3	CO2 Emissions by Source
	Key Indicators	Source	Year	Value	1 Yr Ch	5 Yr Ch	10 Yr Ch	Ch 1990
3.1.a	CO2 solid fuel (million metric tons)	CDIAC	2009	1,864	-11.72%	-12.41%	-7.50%	5.36%
3.1.b	CO2 solid fuel (million metric tons)	EIA	2009	1,882	-12.02%	-12.86%	-8.73%	3.34%
3.3.a	CO2 gas fuel (million metric tons)	CDIAC	2009	1,225	-1.69%	4.30%	-0.21%	29.14%
3.3.b	CO2 gas fuel (million metric tons)	EIA	2009	1,214	-2.12%	1.68%	1.88%	18.53%
3.4.a	CO2 liguid fuel (million metric tons)	CDIAC	2009	2,142	-5.13%	-12.20%	-5.36%	1.86%
3.4.b	CO2 liguid fuel (million metric tons)	EIA	2009	2,319	-5.10%	-11.11%	-4.04%	6.05%
3.5	CO2 cement (million metric tons)	CDIAC	2009	36.30	-16.89%	-26.47%	-17.06%	1.97%
4	Energy Consumption and Intensity
	Key Indicators	Source	Year	Value	1 Yr Ch	5 Yr Ch	10 Yr Ch	Ch 1990
4.1	Total Primary Energy Consumption (Quad BTU)	EIA	2008	99.53	-2.11%	1.24%	4.31%	17.22%
4.2	Primary Energy Consumption per Capita (Million Btu per Person)	EIA	2008	327.00	-3.01%	-3.44%	-5.47%	-3.87%
4.3	Primary Energy Consumption per unit GDP (Btu per 2005 US$)	EIA	2008	7,524	-2.11%	-9.39%	-18.92%	-28.81%
4.4	Primary Energy Consumption per unit GDP (Btu per 2005 PPP $)	EIA	2008	7,524	-2.11%	-9.39%	-18.92%	-28.81%
5	Electricity/Energy Total Supply
	Key Indicators	Source	Year	Value	1 Yr Ch	5 Yr Ch	10 Yr Ch	Ch 1990
5.1.a	Total Net Generation (million Mwh)	EIA	2009	3,953	-4.04%	-0.44%	6.99%	30.13%
5.1.b	Total Net Generation (million Mwh)	WDI-2010	2007	4,323	1.14%	7.37%	17.72%	34.97%
5.2	Total Primary Energy Supply (Quad BTU)	EIA	2008	73.42	2.56%	4.51%	0.53%	3.60%
6	Thermal Generation
	Key Indicators	Source	Year	Value	1 Yr Ch	5 Yr Ch	10 Yr Ch	Ch 1990
6.1	Total Conventional Thermal (million Mwh)	EIA	2009	2,734	-6.57%	-3.20%	6.41%	29.98%
6.2	Electricity production from coal sources (% of total)	WDI-2010	2007	49.01	-1.56%	-3.27%	-8.93%	-7.65%
6.3	Electricity production from natural gas sources (% of total)	WDI-2010	2007	21.17	7.37%	19.64%	53.75%	77.66%
6.4	Electricity production from oil sources (% of total)	WDI-2010	2007	1.81	-1.74%	-31.44%	-38.72%	-55.69%
6.5	Electricity production from coal sources (million Mwh)	WDI-2010	2007	2,118	-0.44%	3.86%	7.21%	24.64%
6.6	Electricity production from natural gas sources (million Mwh)	WDI-2010	2007	915.20	8.59%	28.46%	81.00%	139.79%
6.7	Electricity production from oil sources (million Mwh)	WDI-2010	2007	78.14	-0.62%	-26.38%	-27.86%	-40.19%
7	Hydroelectric Generation
	Key Indicators	Source	Year	Value	1 Yr Ch	5 Yr Ch	10 Yr Ch	Ch 1990
7.1.a	Hydroelectric (million Mwh)	EIA	2009	272.13	6.79%	1.38%	-14.84%	-7.08%
7.1.b	Hydroelectric (million Mwh)	WDI-2010	2007	249.62	-14.48%	-6.52%	-25.08%	-8.62%
7.2	Hydroelectric (% of total)	WDI-2010	2007	5.77	-15.44%	-12.94%	-36.36%	-32.29%
8	Renewables Generation
	Key Indicators	Source	Year	Value	1 Yr Ch	5 Yr Ch	10 Yr Ch	Ch 1990
8.1	Total Renewables (million Mwh)	EIA	2009	424.32	8.04%	16.03%	5.30%	17.59%
8.2	Total Renewables (% of total)	EIA	2009	10.73	12.59%	16.54%	-1.58%	-9.64%
8.3	Total Renewables non-hydro (million Mwh)	EIA	2009	152.19	10.36%	56.42%	82.38%	123.85%
8.4	Total Renewables non-hydro (% of total)	EIA	2009	3.85	15.00%	57.11%	70.47%	72.02%
8.5	Wind (million Mwh)	EIA	2009	70.76	27.81%	400.30%	1,476.67%	2,437.51%
8.6	Solar, Tide and Wave (million Mwh)	EIA	2009	0.81	-6.52%	40.48%	63.20%	120.11%
8.7	Biomass and Waste (million Mwh)	EIA	2009	65.41	-1.97%	-3.48%	2.79%	32.42%
8.8	Geothermal (million Mwh)	EIA	2009	15.21	1.73%	2.69%	2.58%	-1.46%
9	Nuclear Generation
	Key Indicators	Source	Year	Value	1 Yr Ch	5 Yr Ch	10 Yr Ch	Ch 1990
9.1.a	Nuclear (millionMwh)	EIA	2009	798.75	-0.93%	1.30%	9.68%	38.46%
9.1.b	Nuclear (millionMwh)	WDI-2010	2007	836.63	2.50%	3.99%	25.55%	36.80%
9.2	Electricity production from nuclear sources (% of total)	WDI-2010	2007	19.35	1.35%	-3.15%	6.65%	1.35%
10	Installed Capacity and Utilization
	Key Indicators	Source	Year	Value	1 Yr Ch	5 Yr Ch	10 Yr Ch	Ch 1990
10.1	Total Electricity Installed Capacity (Million Kilowatts)	EIA	2008	1,010	1.54%	6.51%	30.20%	37.60%
10.10	Geothermal capacity cumulative (MW)	BP	2009	3,087	6.05%	21.81%		11.24%
10.2	Installed Capacity-Thermal (million Kilowatts)	EIA	2008	770.19	0.81%	5.34%	36.59%	45.93%
10.3	Capacity Utilization-Conventional Thermal (%)	EIA	2008	43.38	-2.98%	0.72%	-15.87%	-4.66%
10.4	Installed Capacity-Renewables (million Kilowatts)	EIA	2008	117.37	7.93%	20.34%	23.02%	34.49%
10.5	Capacity Utilization-Renewables (%)	EIA	2008	38.20	-0.30%	-11.63%	-20.98%	-19.08%
10.6	Installed Capacity-Renewables-non hydro (million Kilowatts)	EIA	2008	39.44	27.80%	109.34%	142.62%	195.58%
10.7	Capacity Utilization-Renewables-non-hydro (%)	EIA	2008	39.92	-8.14%	-29.57%	-29.53%	-31.38%
10.8	Solar Photovoltaic (PV) capacity cumulative (MW)	BP	2009	1,646	40.82%	337.63%	1,302.81%
10.9	Wind turbine capacity cumulative (MW)	BP	2009	35,159	39.32%	420.87%	1,338.00%
11	Socio Economic Indicators
	Key Indicators	Source	Year	Value	1 Yr Ch	5 Yr Ch	10 Yr Ch	Ch 1990
11.1	Population, Total	WDI-2010	2009	307,007,000	0.86%	4.76%	10.02%	22.99%
11.2	GDP (2000 US$)	WDI-2010	2009	11,364,197,491,000	-2.63%	5.04%	19.59%	60.88%
11.3	GDP (2005 PPP $)	WDI-2010	2009	14,119,000,000,000	-1.74%	19.53%	51.80%	145.34%
11.4	GDP growth (annual %)	WDI-2010	2009	-2.632	348,102.63%	-173.43%	-154.05%	-241.74%
11.5	GDP per capita (2000 US$)	WDI-2010	2009	37,016	-3.47%	0.26%	8.70%	30.81%
11.6	GDP per capita (2005 PPP $)	WDI-2010	2009	41,761	-3.47%	0.26%	8.70%	30.81%