World GHG emissions
In Short
Institutions such as the EPA and the IEA publish statistics about energy and GHG emissions.
A Few Details
| Category of GHG emitter | World GHG emissions |
|---|---|
| “Dirty” power plants (EPA: electricity category includes electricity for heating) |
25% |
| Industry (EPA: industry 21% + oil industry from extraction to distribution 10%) |
31% |
| Transport’s gas or diesel engines (EPA: same classification) |
14% |
| Building heating from hydrocarbons (as heating from electricity is included in the power plant category) (EPA: same classification) |
6% |
| Agriculture (EPA: category combines agriculture and “land use”, i.e., forests replaced by agriculture) |
24% |
| TOTAL OF HUMAN ACTIVITY | 100% |
| CO2 removed by ecosystems (i.e., forest and other plants) isn’t included, although it mitigates numbers above. This number could go higher by reversing logging and desertification. (EPA estimates its share at 5% (i.e., a fifth of agriculture’s 24%)) |
-5% |
These numbers come from the EPA (2017). These numbers do vary slightly for other years. Other institutions may classify the sources in different categories.
WATCHOUT about “fake” news: Electricity is often confused with energy. Electricity is only a fraction of our energy, which comes mostly from fossil fuels generating the bulk of GHG emissions. A spectacular saving of 1% of electricity only represents a small fraction of this 1% in terms of reduction of GHG emissions.
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