Energy and the Environment in the United States: High Consumption, Slow Decline, and a Middling Renewable Share

Energy and the Environment at a Glance

This slideshow steps through five World Bank indicators covering emissions, energy use, renewables, electricity access and forest cover. Each frame shows one indicator: a ranking bar chart of the countries at both ends, the highlighted country's own value and rank, and a line showing how that value has moved. All figures come from the World Development Indicators tables behind this page.

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CO2 emissions per person	189	US CO2 emissions: 13.6196 t per person in 2024, 189th of 203
Energy use per person	170	US energy use: 6,359.4398 kg of oil equivalent per person, 170th of 179
Renewable energy share	143	Renewables are 10.9% of US final energy consumption, 143rd of 212
Access to electricity	124	Access to electricity in the US: 100.0% of the population
Forest area	96	Forest covers 33.8669% of US land area, 96th of 214

Read each frame on its own terms: units differ (tonnes, kilograms of oil equivalent, percentages), the number of countries covered differs, and the latest year ranges from 2021 to 2024. Ranks are not comparable across frames either, because on some indicators 1st means the lowest value and on others the highest.

Key Points

Across the five indicators in this edition, the United States sits consistently on the heavy-use side of the world distribution. Its most striking figure is carbon dioxide emissions per capita: 13.6196 tonnes in 2024, ranked 189th out of 203 countries and territories on a scale where 1st is the lowest emitter — that is roughly 2.9 times the world value of 4.6933 tonnes. Energy use per capita tells the same story at 6,359.4398 kg of oil equivalent, 170th of 179 and about 3.4 times the world figure of 1,866.1646 kg. The country is closer to the middle on renewable energy (10.9%, 143rd of 212) and forest cover (33.8669%, 96th of 214), while access to electricity has been at 100.0% throughout the recorded period.

*Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5, EG.USE.PCAP.KG.OE, EG.FEC.RNEW.ZS, EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS, AG.LND.FRST.ZS).*

The Latest Value for the Lead Indicator

The lead indicator is CO2 emissions per capita, excluding LULUCF. The United States recorded 13.6196 tonnes per person in 2024, placing it 189th among 203 countries and territories. It matters which way this ranking runs: 1st place goes to the *lowest* emitter — Nauru at 0.0 t — so 189th means the United States is 15th from the high-emission end. Against the world value of 4.6933 tonnes, the American figure is about 8.93 tonnes higher, or close to three times as much. Among the comparison countries in this dataset, no major economy other than the United States exceeds 12 tonnes except South Korea at 11.3623 t, which is still more than two tonnes lower.

*Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators — Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions excluding LULUCF per capita (EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5), 2024.*

Who Is at the Top and Who Is at the Bottom

At the low-emission end of the CO2 table are very small states and territories and low-income economies: Nauru and Tuvalu at 0.0 t, Guam and Micronesia at 0.0018 t, the U.S. Virgin Islands at 0.0019 t, American Samoa at 0.0021 t, then Somalia at 0.0455 t and Congo - Kinshasa at 0.0568 t. At the high end sit oil and gas producers and small economies: Palau 82.8426 t, Qatar 47.3322 t, Bahrain 23.9 t, Kuwait 23.6727 t, Brunei 20.2427 t, Trinidad & Tobago 19.5811 t, Oman 18.652 t, Saudi Arabia 18.4846 t and the United Arab Emirates 18.2552 t. The United States, at 13.6196 t, belongs to this heavier half — its nearest listed neighbours are Australia at 14.0974 t and Gibraltar at 16.1484 t — though it remains well below Qatar and Palau. The energy-use table has a similar cast at the high end: Qatar 16,343.0404 kg, Iceland 15,996.6796 kg and Trinidad & Tobago 10,590.4282 kg, with the United States at 6,359.4398 kg just above Oman (5,908.4271 kg) and Finland (5,613.9917 kg) and below Saudi Arabia (7,148.5873 kg) and Canada (7,156.115 kg). The low end of that table is made up of Lesotho at 9.7273 kg, Timor-Leste at 60.7032 kg and Guinea-Bissau at 65.4727 kg.

*Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators — EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5 (2024) and EG.USE.PCAP.KG.OE (2024).*

How Things Have Changed Over the Past Decade

American CO2 emissions per capita fell from 16.496 t in 2013 to 13.6196 t in 2024, a decline of 2.8764 t or roughly 17%. The path was not smooth: the series dropped to 13.4716 t in 2020, rebounded to 14.3161 t in 2021 and 14.4177 t in 2022, then eased again to 13.7119 t in 2023 and 13.6196 t in 2024. Energy use per capita followed a similar shape, from 6,888.3814 kg in 2013 to 6,359.4398 kg in 2024 — down 528.9416 kg, about 8% — with the same 2020 dip (6,141.5313 kg) and partial recovery afterwards. The renewable share moved the other way, from 7.4% in 2010 to 10.9% in 2021, a gain of 3.5 percentage points, with a small step back from the 11.0% recorded in 2020; note that this series ends in 2021. Forest cover has been essentially flat, 33.8095% in 2012 against 33.8669% in 2023, and the same value repeats from 2017 onward, so no recent movement should be read into it. Access to electricity has been recorded at 100.0% in every year from 2012 to 2023.

*Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators — EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5, EG.USE.PCAP.KG.OE, EG.FEC.RNEW.ZS, EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS, AG.LND.FRST.ZS.*

Comparison With Similar Countries

Set beside other large economies, the United States is the highest emitter in the group. CO2 per capita: US 13.6196 t, South Korea 11.3623 t, China 9.3151 t, Japan 7.8424 t, Germany 6.944 t, UK 4.2241 t, France 4.0036 t — the American figure is about 1.2 times South Korea's, nearly double Germany's and about 3.4 times France's. Energy use per capita: US 6,359.4398 kg, South Korea 5,438.7904 kg, France 3,184.7895 kg, Japan 3,005.899 kg, China 2,850.9415 kg, Germany 2,824.5901 kg, UK 2,071.0233 kg — the United States uses roughly three times as much per person as the United Kingdom. On the renewable share the ordering changes: Germany 17.6%, France 16.2%, China 15.2%, UK 12.2%, US 10.9%, Japan 8.8%, South Korea 3.6%, which puts the United States fifth of these seven and about 6.7 percentage points below Germany. Forest cover: Japan 68.3958%, South Korea 64.1086%, US 33.8669%, Germany 32.6789%, France 32.4765%, China 24.0319%, UK 13.2907% — here the American figure is the highest of the Western economies listed and just above the world value of 31.143%. For electricity access all seven are at 100.0%, so the rank numbers attached to them (US 124th, Japan 57th, Germany 42nd) reflect only how tied values are ordered and carry no difference in substance.

*Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators — EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5, EG.USE.PCAP.KG.OE, EG.FEC.RNEW.ZS, EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS, AG.LND.FRST.ZS.*

How to Read These Numbers

Each of these indicators measures something narrower than its label suggests. The CO2 series excludes LULUCF — land use, land-use change and forestry — and is a production-based measure divided by population, so emissions embodied in imported goods are not counted against the importing country. Energy use is primary energy supply in kilograms of oil equivalent per person, a figure shaped by industrial structure, climate and the distances a country's economy has to cover, which is part of why cold or resource-exporting economies such as Iceland, Canada and Qatar appear high. The renewable share is measured against total final energy consumption, a definition under which countries relying heavily on traditional biomass tend to score high — Congo - Kinshasa at 96.3% and Somalia at 95.4% lead that table. Forest area is expressed as a share of land area, so its meaning depends on how large and how varied a country's territory is. Several caveats apply to comparison itself: the latest year differs by indicator, from 2021–2022 for the renewable share to 2024 for CO2 and energy use, so the frames should not be read as a single-year snapshot; extreme values from very small states and territories, such as Palau's 82.8426 t or Nauru's 0.0 t, are strongly affected by small populations and statistical treatment; and where many countries share an identical value, as with 100.0% electricity access, ranks separate nothing. All figures are estimates that involve modelling and adjustment for international comparability and are revised on an annual cycle.

*Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators — EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5, EG.USE.PCAP.KG.OE, EG.FEC.RNEW.ZS, EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS, AG.LND.FRST.ZS.*

CO2 emissions per person on the map and in charts

The low end is held by very small states and low-income economies — Nauru and Tuvalu at 0.0 t, Somalia at 0.0455 t. The high end runs from Palau 82.8426 t and Qatar 47.3322 t down through the Gulf producers, with the US at 13.6196 t just below Australia's 14.0974 t.

The trend line falls from 16.496 t in 2013 to 13.6196 t in 2024, with a dip to 13.4716 t in 2020 and a rebound to 14.4177 t in 2022. The bars are very unevenly spaced: Qatar's value is more than three times the American one, which is itself nearly three times the world figure.

Compare countries

Energy use per person

Lesotho, Timor-Leste (60.7032 kg) and Guinea-Bissau (65.4727 kg) anchor the low end; Qatar 16,343.0404 kg and Iceland 15,996.6796 kg the high end. The US sits between Oman 5,908.4271 kg and Saudi Arabia 7,148.5873 kg.

The line eases from 6,888.3814 kg in 2013 to 6,359.4398 kg in 2024, with 2020 the low point at 6,141.5313 kg. The spread across countries spans three orders of magnitude, from single-digit to five-digit values.

Renewable energy share

The top of this table is made up of countries that rely heavily on biomass, led by Congo - Kinshasa at 96.3% and Somalia at 95.4%; the bottom holds Gulf and offshore economies at 0.0–0.1%. The US at 10.9% sits below Germany 17.6% and the UK 12.2% but above Japan 8.8%.

The trend rises from 7.4% in 2010 to 10.9% in 2021, a gain of 3.5 percentage points, easing back from 11.0% in 2020. Distances between countries are wide at the top and compressed near zero at the bottom.

Access to electricity

Dozens of countries share the 100.0% figure at the top, from Albania and Algeria onward. The bottom is where the range lies: South Sudan 5.4%, Burundi 11.6%, Chad 12.0%, against a world value of 91.5992%.

The US line is flat at 100.0% for every year from 2012 to 2023, so there is no change to read. The bar chart is best used to see the gap between countries at full access and those still in the teens.

Forest area

Suriname 94.4476%, Micronesia 92.1571% and Gabon 91.1824% top the table, while Qatar, Nauru, Monaco and Gibraltar record 0.0%. The US at 33.8669% is just ahead of Germany 32.6789% and France 32.4765%, and well behind Japan 68.3958%.

The line is essentially flat — 33.8095% in 2012 against 33.8669% in 2023 — and identical from 2017 onward, so no recent movement should be inferred. Country differences here are structural, reflecting terrain and land area rather than short-term change.