The potential for cost-effective reductions of non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions in the US

To date, most of the economic analyses of greenhouse gas emission reductions have focused on energy-related carbon emissions since carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions currently account for about 82 percent of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions weighted by 100-year global warming potentials (EPA, 1999a). A number of recent analyses, however, suggest that the inclusion of mitigation options for the non-CO2 greenhouse gases included in the Kyoto Protocol - methane, nitrous oxide, and the high GWP (global warming potential) gases (HFCs, PFCs, and SF6) - can make a significant contribution to cost-effective emission reductions for the U.S.