A decomposition analysis of CO₂ emissions in the United States

Abstract

This article decomposes the growth in US CO₂ emissions by state. Using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method, we account for CO₂ emissions change in each state between 1990 and 2004. The change is decomposed into five effects: (a) emissions per unit of fossil fuel; (b) share of fossil fuel in total energy consumption; (c) energy intensity; (d) gross state product per capita and (e) population. Results show that for the past 15 years gains in the efficiency of energy use in the economy, the lowering share of fossil fuels in total energy consumption and lowering of emissions intensity of fuels all contributed to offsetting the effect of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and the population growth in carbon emission across the US.

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this article was presented at the 47th Southern Regional Science Association (2008) annual meeting in Arlington, Virginia, USA. The opinions and conclusions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the institutions with which they are affiliated.

Notes

¹ A Google search of ‘climate change’ delivers almost 5 million hits. In the news database Factiva, ‘climate change’ was mentioned 3 25 000 times in various news articles in the last 2 years. In the past 2 years alone, EconLit returns about 927 articles, books, dissertations, journal articles and working papers on the topic of climate change.

² A listing of state initiatives can be found at: http://www.pewclimate.org/what_s_being_done/in_the_states/state_action_maps.cfm

³ The US Public Interest Research Group Education Fund produced ‘The Carbon Boom: State and National Trends in Carbon Dioxide Since 1990’ (US PIRG, 2007), and Mongobay.com published in 2006, an online a piece that analysed data from the US Department of Energy-Energy Information Administration: http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0621-carbon.html