The Environmental Protection Agency prepares an annual inventory of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions that is submitted to the United Nations under the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.
In 2022, net U.S. greenhouse gas emissions totaled 5,489 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents after taking into account sequestration by the land sector. In 2022, emissions increased by one percent mainly from combustion of fossil fuel. This was a result of an increase in economic activity after relaxation of COVID restrictions. Sources of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 comprised 80 percent carbon dioxide, 11 percent methane, 6 percent nitrous oxide and the remaining 3 percent from a mixture of compounds.
In evaluating sources of greenhouse gas emission by economic sector, agriculture represented 10 percent, industry 30 percent, residential and commercial emitters 31 percent and transportation 30 percent.
Based on the low contribution of the agricultural sector, activists condemning livestock production appear to have missed their target. Perhaps staying up at night while running an air conditioner and writing posts for social media about the evils of meat and poultry production contributed to the residential contribution.