By Justin Hyde
    Detroit Free Press

    Thursday 29 November 2007

    Greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks rose slightly in 2006, even as the United States cut its overall emissions by 1.5%, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.

    The administration said the decline in man-made emissions to 7.08 billion metric tons was the first since 2001, and only the third since 1990.

    Higher energy costs, a warmer winter that cut heating demand and a greater use of natural gas instead of coal by electric utilities drove the decline.

    But carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks burning gasoline rose 0.3% to 1.19 billion tons, or about 17% of the U.S. total.

    Greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. vehicles have risen steadily since 1990, as a growing number of drivers traveling farther every year overwhelmed any reductions from more efficient vehicles.

    Total emissions from transportation - including everything from diesel trucks to airplanes - rose slightly to 2.01 billion metric tons.

    Residential uses generated 1.23 billion metric tons, with the remainder split between commercial and industrial demand.

    The United States accounts for about one-fifth of the world's emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases linked to global warming, although developing nations, such as China and India, have been rapidly increasing their emissions in recent years.

    Scientists with the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated this year that the world would have to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% to 85% over the next four decades to contain global warming at a reasonable level - roughly 4 degrees Fahrenheit on average.

    The IPCC, which shared this year's Nobel Peace Prize with former vice president Al Gore, is hosting a major conference to press for action on climate change next month.