North America · USA
United States Environmental Profile
The United States combines a visible power-sector transition with a still-large economy-wide footprint. Territorial fossil and industrial CO₂ was 4.90 billion tonnes in 2024, about 20% below its 2005 peak but still the largest absolute total among these profiles. At 14.2 tonnes per person, the national footprint remains high, as does primary energy use at roughly 81,610 kWh per person. Electricity changed more sharply: renewables reached 25.6% in 2025, coal fell to 16.3%, and gas became the largest source at 40.0%. Those gains do not automatically transfer to transport, buildings, and industry. FAO's latest forest assessment reports a net loss of 72,000 hectares per year, while agricultural greenhouse gases were 366.8 Mt CO₂e in 2023. High adaptation readiness reduces vulnerability, but a national average cannot represent the country's wide regional differences in heat, wildfire, drought, storms, and coastal exposure.
At a glance
Six signals, each with its own clock
Values are not forced into a false common year. The observation year and source sit on every card.
- Total CO₂ emissions
- 4.90 billion t
- Net forest-area change
- −72,000 ha/year
−4.4% since 1990; −20% since 2005 peak
Net loss in the latest interval
Original interpretation
What stands out
Each insight connects multiple indicators instead of repeating a headline number.
The peak passed, but the scale remains large
Territorial CO₂ fell about 20% from the 2005 peak and per-capita emissions fell 30% from 1990. Those are substantial changes, yet the 2024 total was still 4.90 billion tonnes and 14.2 tonnes per person. Absolute, per-capita, and trend measures answer different questions; using only one can make the same national record look either solved or unchanged.
See the evidenceCoal declined; gas and total energy are the next test
Coal supplied 16.3% of electricity in 2025, down sharply from 2000, while gas supplied 40.0%. Wind and solar together reached 18.9%. The resulting power transition matters, but total primary energy use per person remains almost seven times Indonesia's. Future progress depends on both cleaner electricity and electrifying or reducing fossil demand beyond the power sector.
See the evidenceNational resilience can conceal local risk
ND-GAIN reports relatively low vulnerability and high readiness for the United States, but its exposure score is not negligible and the index is a national average. It cannot show who is uninsured, which grid faces heat stress, or which coast is losing protection. The environmental profile should therefore be read as a comparable baseline, not a local hazard map or an equity assessment.
See the evidenceEmissions
A trajectory, not just a latest value
Territorial fossil and industrial CO₂, with total and per-person views using the same selected years.
United States CO₂ history
4.90 billion t in 2024, compared with 5,131.8 million t CO₂ in 1990.
The complete values are available in the data table below. JavaScript adds the visual chart.
View emissions data table
| Year | Total (t CO₂) | Per person (t) |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 5,131,760,600 | 20.25 |
| 1995 | 5,425,837,600 | 20.23 |
| 2000 | 6,023,158,000 | 21.40 |
| 2005 | 6,126,903,300 | 20.72 |
| 2010 | 5,669,250,000 | 18.23 |
| 2015 | 5,368,496,600 | 16.46 |
| 2020 | 4,689,954,000 | 13.82 |
| 2021 | 5,020,111,000 | 14.76 |
| 2022 | 5,055,403,000 | 14.80 |
| 2023 | 4,918,406,700 | 14.32 |
| 2024 | 4,904,120,000 | 14.20 |
Energy transition
Electricity is the leading edge—not the whole system
Generation shares show the power recipe. Primary energy per person supplies the wider context.
Renewable electricity share
25.6% in 2025.
The complete values are available in the data table below. JavaScript adds the visual chart.
View renewable-share data table
| Year | Renewable share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 9.23% |
| 2005 | 8.75% |
| 2010 | 10.32% |
| 2015 | 13.63% |
| 2020 | 20.32% |
| 2022 | 22.35% |
| 2023 | 22.68% |
| 2024 | 24.06% |
| 2025 | 25.64% |
Electricity mix, 2025
4,519.8 TWh of domestic generation; shares are derived from the nine source rows.
- Coal
- 16.31% 737.15 TWh
- Gas
- 39.99% 1,807.34 TWh
- Oil
- 0.70% 31.72 TWh
- Nuclear
- 17.36% 784.78 TWh
- Hydropower
- 5.35% 241.70 TWh
- Wind
- 10.27% 464.39 TWh
- Solar
- 8.60% 388.82 TWh
- Bioenergy
- 1.02% 46.19 TWh
- Other renewables
- 0.39% 17.70 TWh
Land and food
Net forest change and agricultural gases
Two useful indicators with deliberately separate accounting boundaries.
Net forest-area change
2025−72,000 ha/year
Expansion minus deforestation; this is not gross tree-cover loss. 2020–2025 average.
Agricultural emissions
2023366.8 Mt CO₂e
IPCC Agriculture greenhouse gases in CO₂e; excludes land-use CO₂ and energy.
Climate risk and biodiversity
Scores need direction, definition, and restraint
Exposure is kept separate from vulnerability and readiness; biodiversity coverage is not presented as ecological success.
Climate exposure
20240.466 / 1
0 is lower; 1 is higher
Modeled biophysical exposure component of ND-GAIN; invariant across the time series.
Climate vulnerability
20240.317 / 1
Down from 0.322 in 1995
Exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity combined; lower is better.
Adaptation readiness
20240.632 / 1
1 is more ready
Economic, governance, and social readiness to convert investment into adaptation.
Red List Index
20240.83 / 1
Down from 0.86 in 1995
Closer to 1 indicates lower aggregate extinction risk among assessed groups.
Protected KBA coverage
202438.6%
+4.6 points since 2000
Average share of terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas.
Synthesis
Connections to watch
Watch 01
Separate the effect of coal-to-gas switching from the growth of genuinely low-carbon electricity.
Watch 02
Compare declining national emissions with persistently high energy use and per-capita CO₂.
Watch 03
Pair national readiness scores with local exposure, infrastructure, insurance, and environmental-justice evidence.
What these numbers cannot tell us: National indicators cannot resolve local inequality, implementation quality, ecosystem condition, or the lived impacts of pollution and climate hazards. They are a starting map for investigation, not a verdict.
Methodology and downloads
A reproducible, bounded snapshot
24Earth retrieved this snapshot on 14 July 2026 and stores it locally. Each source is refreshed on its own schedule, so every metric retains its observation year instead of being relabeled “current.” Values are rounded only for display; downloads retain source precision where reuse permits.
Indicator data dictionary and source ledger
| Source family | Coverage / update | License / reuse | Boundary and 24Earth treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Carbon Budget (2025), processed by Our World in Data Global Carbon Project and Our World in Data | Through 2024; source update 2025-11-13 | Source citation requested; OWID Chart API material is CC BY 4.0 where applicable, with original source terms continuing to apply. | Territorial fossil-fuel and industrial CO₂. Land-use change is excluded. |
| Yearly Electricity Data, compiled by Our World in Data Ember via Our World in Data | Through 2024–2025, depending on country; source update 2026-04-24 | CC BY 4.0 | 24Earth uses 2000 onward so the displayed generation data is within Ember coverage, avoiding legacy Energy Institute rows. |
| International primary energy consumption per capita U.S. Energy Information Administration | Through 2024; source update 2026 | U.S. government data are public domain; attribution requested. | EIA series INTL.47-33-{ISO3}-MBTUPP.A converted from million Btu per person to kWh per person using 293.07107. This is EIA, not IEA. |
| Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, processed by Our World in Data | Through 2025; source update 2025-12-05 | FAO open-data terms; attribution required. | Average annual net forest-area change for the latest assessment interval, not gross tree-cover loss. |
| FAOSTAT Emissions Totals — IPCC Agriculture Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | Through 2023; source update 2025-10-28 | CC BY 4.0 with FAO database terms | Item 1711, IPCC Agriculture; Element 723113, emissions in CO₂-equivalent using AR5 factors; FAO Tier 1. Source kt CO₂e values are multiplied by 1,000 for displayed tonnes. |
| World Population Prospects 2024 United Nations, processed by Our World in Data | Through 2023; source update 2024 | United Nations data terms; attribution required. | Historical population estimate used for context; it is not forced to the year of other indicators. |
| ND-GAIN Country Index 2026 release Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative | Through 2024; source update 2026-06-26 | CC BY 3.0 | Exposure is a modeled biophysical index from 0 (lower) to 1 (higher); it is not observed disaster loss. |
| Red List Index (UN SDG 15.5.1) BirdLife International and IUCN, distributed through UN SDG data and Our World in Data | Through 2024; source update 2025-10-29 | Original IUCN and BirdLife reuse terms apply. Display only; omitted from downloads. | A national aggregate from OWID's 2025-10-29 snapshot is displayed with attribution. It differs from a later live UNSD revision, so versions are not blended. Raw species data and this metric are excluded from 24Earth downloads. |
| Protected coverage of terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas (UN SDG 15.1.2) BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC, distributed through UN SDG data and Our World in Data | Through 2024; source update 2025-10-29 | Original provider and Protected Planet reuse terms apply. Display only; omitted from downloads. | The national SDG aggregate is displayed with attribution. Raw protected-area and KBA data are not redistributed by 24Earth. |
Download the United States profile snapshot
CSV is analysis-friendly; JSON preserves definitions, precision, and source metadata. Biodiversity aggregates are intentionally omitted from both files while original reuse rights are reviewed.
Licensing decision: This profile does not redistribute IEA data. Primary energy comes from U.S. EIA. Electricity history begins in Ember’s openly licensed modern coverage. Source access and reuse permission are treated as separate questions.
