Atmospheric greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) help maintain temperatures favorable to life on the planet. However, worries that human-caused additions to greenhouse gases are raising their atmospheric concentrations and posing the threat of global climate change have prompted international actions to control those emissions. The 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change committed signatories, including the United States, to taking steps toward stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations.

The U.S. response includes provisions of the 1992 Energy Policy Act. Section 1605(b) of the Act requires the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to develop a system for the voluntary reporting of greenhouse gas emissions, reduction efforts, and estimated emissions reductions. In 1995, the first operating year for the Voluntary Reporting Program, 108 "reporters" (corporations, government agencies, other organizations, and households) submitted information. Report highlights include the following:

• Of the 108 reporters, 96 (89 percent) were electric utilities, including 12 of the 15 largest electric utilities in the United States. The remaining 12 reporters included General Motors, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Noranda, Alcan, and Peabody Holding Company.

• Reported greenhouse gas emissions accounted for about 23 percent of U.S. national carbon dioxide emissions in 1994. Firms that reported emissions reductions for their entire organizations claimed total reductions of 63 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and about 80,000 tons of methane and other greenhouse gases in 1994. (Methodological differences mean these numbers should be seen only as approximations of total effects.)

• Reporters described 645 separate projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions; 75 percent involved electricity end-use and electricity-supply activities.

The reports are being compiled into a database that EIA will release to the public soon.

For more information about this report, contact Arthur Rypinski, Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting, Energy Information Administration, at 202-586-8425 or via Internet E-Mail at arypinsk@eia.doe.gov. If you have problems accessing the report on the Internet, contact wmaster@eia.doe.gov or call 202-586-2753. For general information about energy data and analysis, contact the National Energy Information Center at 202-586-8800 or via Internet E-Mail at infoctr@eia.doe.gov.