Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in United States
United States: Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems was 1.47 billion tonnes CO₂e in 2015. ▲ Rising
Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in United States, 1990–2015
Source: Crippa et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes CO₂e.
Analysis
In 2015, greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in United States stood at 1.47 billion tonnes CO₂e.
That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and down 4.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in United States peaked at 1.69 billion tonnes CO₂e in 2007 and was at its lowest, 1.20 billion tonnes CO₂e, in 1990.
United States ranks 3rd of 217 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.29 billion tonnes CO₂e | 1.20 billion tonnes CO₂e | 1.39 billion tonnes CO₂e | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.51 billion tonnes CO₂e | 1.41 billion tonnes CO₂e | 1.69 billion tonnes CO₂e | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.48 billion tonnes CO₂e | 1.44 billion tonnes CO₂e | 1.53 billion tonnes CO₂e | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More climate change data for United States
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 4.1% (2100)
- Population growth 0.5% (2025)
- Population, total 341.79 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.6% (2025)
- Urban population 274.08 million (2025)
- Urban population 80.2% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 14.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 434.87 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 14.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 14.2 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in United States?
- Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems in United States was 1.47 billion tonnes CO₂e in 2015, according to Crippa et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest greenhouse gas emissions from food systems recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 1.69 billion tonnes CO₂e in 2007.
- What is the lowest greenhouse gas emissions from food systems recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.20 billion tonnes CO₂e in 1990.
- How does United States rank for greenhouse gas emissions from food systems?
- United States ranks 3rd out of 217 countries with data for 2015.
- Is greenhouse gas emissions from food systems rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Crippa et al. (2021) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Greenhouse gas emissions from food systems. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Emissions are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents.