NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. emissions of the main greenhouse gas -- carbon dioxide -- from energy sources, such as gasoline and coal, fell 2.8 percent last year as the recession hit consumer demand for fuel, the government said on Wednesday.
Energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide in 2008 fell 165 million metric tons from the previous year to 5,802 million metric tons, said the Energy Information Administration, the statistics branch of the Department of Energy. Total U.S. energy consumption dropped 2.2 percent during the year, it said.
Emissions from petroleum fuels fell 6 percent as the recession forced consumers to keep cars in garages.
"Near the end of the year, despite lower energy prices, gasoline and diesel demand was dampened by a drop in consumer income," said the EIA.
Fuel prices had shot to record prices during the middle of the year, when crude oil hit $147 per barrel, which also helped cut consumer demand.
The Department of Transportation said on Wednesday Americans drove fewer miles in March for the 16th month in a row.
Emissions from power plants, the source of 41 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide pollution from energy sources, fell 2.1 percent over the year, with output of CO2 from coal burning down 1.1 percent, the EIA said.
Even with the fall in 2008, CO2 emissions from the top two sectors, power and transportation, have generally risen since 1990, the EIA said.
Output of CO2 from industrial sources, however, has declined about 8 percent since 1990, the EIA said.
The EIA said a government report on all 2008 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, including methane and other gases, will be available in December.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Walter Bagley)
