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U.S. Carbon Emissions Decline in 2023, But Not Enough to Meet 2030 Goal

While emissions from power plants fell, transportation and industrial sectors saw an increase, challenging Biden's climate targets.

Image
Steam billows from a coal-fired power plant Nov. 18, 2021, in Craig, Colo.
Emissions rise from the smokestacks at the Jeffrey Energy Center coal power plant as the suns sets Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021, near Emmett, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
The FirstEnergy Corp. W.H. Sammis Plant coal-fired power plant stands along the Ohio River in Stratton, Ohio, U.S., on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017. Across America, few places are as dominated by big, centralized power plants as in this cluster of Ohio River towns a half-hour north of Pittsburgh. It was in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, in the 1950s, that the federal government teamed up with private industry to build the country's first nuclear power plant. Photographer: Justin Merriman/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Overview

  • U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell 1.9 percent in 2023, but the rate of decline is not fast enough to meet President Biden's goal of reducing emissions by 50 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.
  • Carbon emissions from U.S. power plants dropped roughly 8 percent in 2023 due to the closure of more than a dozen large coal-burning power plants.
  • Transportation sector emissions rose by 1.6 percent in 2023 due to increased gasoline and jet fuel consumption.
  • Industrial sector emissions increased by approximately 1.2 percent in 2023, largely due to methane leaks from drilling operations.
  • Despite the decline in U.S. emissions, global carbon dioxide emissions reached record levels in 2023, driven by increased fossil fuel use in China, India, and other rapidly developing countries.