The following press release was published by the US EPA on Oct. 6. It is reproduced in full below.
WASHINGTON (Oct. 6, 2021) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released 2020 greenhouse gas (GHG) data collected under the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP). In 2020, reported emissions from large industrial sources were approximately 9% lower than in 2019, reflecting both the economic slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing, long-term industry trends.
“The Biden-Harris Administration recognizes the urgency of the climate crisis, and has committed to a whole-of-government approach to achieve ambitious reductions in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions,” said Joseph Goffman, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is supporting these efforts by providing high-quality, long-term-data for the largest emitters, and contributing important details on greenhouse gas emissions trends.”
More than 8,100 large facilities reported greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 to EPA. The data show that in 2020:
New features added to online GHGRP data tool
With this year’s data publication, GHGRP is adding a new demographic mapping layer to EPA’s user-friendly online tool for presenting GHGRP data, the Facility Level Information on Greenhouse gases Tool (FLIGHT). The mapping layer will allow users to view demographic index information, including the average of percent low-income and percent people of color, using census tract information drawn from EPA’s EJSCREEN. GHGRP is also releasing a new “dashboard” to view data on demographic indicators in proximity to GHGRP reporting facilities by industry through interactive maps, graphs, and charts. Although the emissions reported to EPA by reporting facilities are global pollutants, many of these facilities also release pollutants that have a more direct and local impact in the surrounding communities.
EPA will be holding an informational webinar to demonstrate its greenhouse gas data publication tools, including new features, and a tutorial on common searches, on Oct. 12, 2021.
This is the eleventh year of data collection for most sectors under the GHGRP. As directed by Congress, EPA collects annual, facility-level emissions data from major industrial sources, including power plants, oil and gas production, iron and steel mills, and landfills. GHGRP gathers direct emissions information from the largest stationary sources in the U.S., representing approximately 50% of total U.S. emissions. GHGRP also gathers information from suppliers of fossil fuels and high global-warming greenhouse gases. The data from these suppliers are reported at the point of production rather than the point of use and provide information about the greenhouse gas emissions that occur when these products are eventually burned or employed by an end user. Information reported by these suppliers covers an additional 35-40% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. More than 8,100 direct emitters and suppliers report GHG data to GHGRP.
A complete accounting of total U.S. GHG emissions is available through a separate EPA report, the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks.
For more information, and to register for the webinar see: https://epa.gov/ghgreporting/
To view the new data directly in FLIGHT, see: https://ghgdata.epa.gov/ghgp/main.do
To view the new GHGRP Demographic Data Highlights Dashboard see: https://edap.epa.gov/public/extensions/GHGRP-Demographic-Data-Highlights/GHGRP-Demographic-Data-Highlights.html
To learn more about climate change, see: https://epa.gov/climatechange
Source: US EPA
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