Greenhouse gas emissions and removals from forest land, woodlands, urban trees, and harvested wood products in the United States, 1990–2022

greenhouse gas reporting
forest carbon
Author

Domke, G.M.; Walters, B.F.; Smith, J.E.; Greenfield, E.J.; Giebink, C. L.; Ogle, S.M.; Steller, J.; Rewcastle, K.; Knott, J.A.; Coulston, John W.; Heilman, K.A.; Lang, A.K.

Doi

https://doi.org/10.2737/WO-RB-102

Citation

Domke, Grant M.; Walters, Brian F.; Smith, James E.; Greenfield, Eric J.; Giebink, Courtney L.; Ogle, Stephen M.; Steller, John; Rewcastle, Kenna; Knott, Jonathan A.; Coulston, John W.; Heilman, Kelly A.; Lang, Ashley K. 2024. Greenhouse gas emissions and removals from forest land, woodlands, urban trees, and harvested wood products in the United States, 1990–2022. Resour. Bull. WO-102. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington Office. 13p. https://doi.org/10.2737/WO-RB-102.

Abstract:

As a party to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United States has reported an inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals by sector every year, using the methodological guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), since the mid-1990s (U.S. EPA 2024). The United States is also party to the 2015 Paris Agreement. In 2024, the annual inventory supports both agreements for the first time. It follows guidelines under these agreements and presents information in a common and consistent format to assess the relative contribution of different GHG emissions and removals in the United States to climate change.

In 2022, U.S. net GHG emissions increased  by more than 1.3 percent relative to 2021 net  emissions, which had decreased substantially  from previous years due, in large part, to the  global COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Forest  land, harvested wood products, woodlands,  and urban trees within the land sector  collectively continue to represent the largest  net carbon sink in the United States, removing  the equivalent of more than 14 percent of total  (i.e., gross) GHG emissions in 2022 (U.S. EPA  2024). U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),  Forest Service researchers and partners compile  estimates of GHG emissions and removals,  based primarily on Nationwide Forest Inventory  (NFI) data collected and maintained by the  Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program  within the Forest Service. This resource bulletin  provides an overview of the status and trends  of GHG emissions and removals from forest  land, harvested wood products, woodlands,  and urban trees in the United States from 1990  to 2022. The estimates summarized here are  based on the compilation reported in the “Land  Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry” chapter of  the U.S. EPA (2024) inventory submission to the  UNFCCC.

The published report and disaggregated estimates are available online at https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2024-0065.