U.S. emissions are currently just 17.2% below 2005 levels, Rhodium finds. That means future annual reductions need to be much larger than last year’s 1.9%.
“To meet the 2030 goal, we need to see more than triple that every year,” says Ben King, associate director with Rhodium Group’s energy and climate practice. “We need to see 6.9% decreases starting in 2024 through 2030.”
Emissions plunged more than 11% during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then they increased in 2021 and 2022, leaving them down 6% from 2019 levels.
Two big reasons for the 2023 decline were the country’s continuing transition away from carbon-intensive coal-fired power plants and toward natural gas and renewable energy, King says. A relatively mild winter last year also meant less energy was required to keep buildings warm. King says transportation emissions rose 1.6%, primarily due to increasing air travel, and industrial emissions increased 1% because of more domestic oil and gas production.
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U.S. emissions are currently just 17.2% below 2005 levels, Rhodium finds. That means future annual reductions need to be much larger than last year’s 1.9%.
“To meet the 2030 goal, we need to see more than triple that every year,” says Ben King, associate director with Rhodium Group’s energy and climate practice. “We need to see 6.9% decreases starting in 2024 through 2030.”
Emissions plunged more than 11% during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then they increased in 2021 and 2022, leaving them down 6% from 2019 levels.
Two big reasons for the 2023 decline were the country’s continuing transition away from carbon-intensive coal-fired power plants and toward natural gas and renewable energy, King says. A relatively mild winter last year also meant less energy was required to keep buildings warm. King says transportation emissions rose 1.6%, primarily due to increasing air travel, and industrial emissions increased 1% because of more domestic oil and gas production.