Reduce Climate Change

The vehicles we drive release over 1.7 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere each year—mostly in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2)—contributing to global climate change. Each gallon of gasoline you burn creates 20 pounds of CO2. That's about 6 to 9 tons of CO2 each year for a typical vehicle. more...

How can 6 pounds of gasoline create 19 pounds of carbon dioxide?








Data Sources


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What Can I Do?

Reduce your greenhouse gas emissions by choosing a car with better gas mileage.

Graph showing typical carbon emissions by vehicle MPG



  1. Greenhouse Gas Emissions score example: tailpipe-only emissionsTailpipe CO2: the amount of CO2 emitted directly from the vehicle and a scale that shows emissions relative to other vehicles
  2. Greenhouse Gas Emissions score example: tailpipe and upstream emissionsTailpipe & upstream GHG: greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide) from the vehicle's tailpipe, as well as "upstream" GHG emissions related to the production and distribution of the fuel used to power the vehicle

More Information on Climate Change

EPA's Transportation and Climate Site

EPA's Climate Change Site

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)


Data Sources

Highway vehicle CO2 emissions based on EPA's Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990 – 2009Adobe Acrobat Icon, Table 2-15, p. 2-22. April 2011.

Average annual vehicle CO2 emissions based on Transportation Energy Data Book, Edition 27Adobe Acrobat Icon. Table 11.9, p. 11-13. 2008.