Fossil fuel-based emissions declined in U.S. transportation, residential and industrial sectors. They rose slightly in the commercial sector, which includes retail stores, office and government buildings, schools and hospitals.
A slump in U.S. energy consumption last year due to high prices and a faltering economy created the largest annual decline in the amount of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions since the last major recession in 1982.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released initial estimates for 2008 that point to a 2.8 percent decline in the amount of CO2 emissions compared to the previous year.
The 1982 recession under the Reagan administration was responsible for a 5.3 percent drop in emissions.
Energy-based CO2 emissions in 2008 plunged 5.2 percent from the year before, mainly because of gas prices that soared to above $4 per gallon before dropping precipitously during the latter half of the year.
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