According to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, total estimated annual greenhouse gas emissions in Maine increased from 21.65 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MMTCO2e) in 1990 to a peak of 26.97 MMTCO2e in 2002, and then declined to 18.21 MMTCO2e in 2012. This equals a reduction in annual emissions of 15% between 1990 and 2012 (a reduction of 11.7% between 1990 and 2015).
Most of Maine’s carbon dioxide emissions -- 53 percent -- came from the state's transportation sector, according to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Home heating represents the next largest contributor to statewide greenhouse gas emissions.
Maine’s electric power sector has reduced its annual carbon dioxide emissions by 73 percent since emissions peaked in 2002, largely by replacing high carbon fuels with natural gas. In 2015, Maine’s electric power sector emitted 1.57 MMTCO2 from the combustion of fossil fuels, or 9 percent of the state’s total CO2 emissions.
Meanwhile, the transportation sector’s carbon emissions have increased since 1990, primarily due to an increase in miles traveled. This increase comes despite increases in vehicle fleet efficiency and the addition of carbon-neutral ethanol to gasoline; the transportation sector now accounts for most of Maine's greenhouse gas emissions (at 53 percent of the all-sector total).
These facts and data have implications for Maine's policy efforts to further reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions. The state's electricity supply has been substantially decarbonized, while transportation emissions have actually increased since 1990, and emissions related to residential heating (primarily with oil) are roughly at the same level they were in 1990. Efforts to address the carbon emissions associated with transportation and heating -- such as through electric vehicles and heat pumps -- could do much to continue reducing Maine's contributions to global carbon emissions.
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