Research Publications

As the public conversation about climate change gets increasingly serious, many Americans may be wondering: How do my individual choices affect climate change?

Household consumption—food, housing, transportation, apparel, and other personal services—is an important contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Everything you eat or wear, every time you drive, contributes to total global emissions. The typical American’s annual per capita carbon footprint is more than five times the world per capita average.

A study by our research team, including Kaihui Song, Shen Qu and Sai Liang, published on September 10, sheds light on the global carbon footprint of U.S. households.